Puka Nacua Shared His Surprising Phone Call With Sean McVay Before Davante Adams Move

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) celebrates the victory against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) celebrates the victory against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Some things for Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua will stay the same in 2025, like catching passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Others will change, with the Rams set to part ways with longtime veteran Cooper Kupp this offseason. Ahead of Kupp's impending exit, the Rams have seemingly already found a replacement in former New York Jets wideout Davante Adams, who they signed to a two-year, $46 million deal on Sunday.

In a recent appearance on the St. Brown Podcast with Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown, Nacua revealed that he was actually a Green Bay Packers fan growing up and held both Adams and Aaron Rodgers in high regard.

The 23-year-old then shared his honest feelings about teaming up with Adams next season, mentioning that he had an out-of-the-blue phone call with coach Sean McVay a day before the signing.

"Coach McVay called me on Saturday, I was at my teammate's wedding out in Virginia," Nacua said. "We got there and they had just finished up the first dance and stuff like that. I feel my phone buzz... I pull it out and it says Sean McVay. I said, 'Oh, yup, let me answer this.'

"I just turned around, I was like, 'Yo, what's up coach?'... He's like, 'Just wanted to call you and see what you thought if we get Davante Adams?' I was like, 'Word? For real?' And he's like, 'We're in some negotiations but I wanted to call you about it first.' I was like, 'Appreciate you, coach. Let's do it.'"

Nacua is entering his third year with the Rams after capping off another productive season in 2024, tallying 79 catches for 990 yards and three touchdowns during an injury-plagued campaign that limited him to 11 regular season games.

Nacua has already decided to generously give Adams No. 17 and switch to No. 12, which he wore during his college career with BYU.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.