This Rams Player Could Benefit Most From Puka Nacua Injury

As the Los Angeles Rams get ready to play the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, it is looking increasingly likely that they will be without wide receiver Puka Nacua. Nacua showed up on the injury report this week with a hip injury. While the team remained hopeful that he would play, the Rams may opt to play it safe with Nacua and rest him with a short week ahead.

Nacua being out could provide an opportunity for several players. However, the player who could benefit the most and be the X-factor in Monday’s game is tight end Terrance Ferguson.

There may not have been a player with higher expectations going into 2026 than Ferguson. Ferguson had a great offseason and is someone who proved during training camp that he could align all over the formation. Throughout camp he lined up at the F, Z, Y, and X. While he did miss a little bit of time in training camp with some soreness, he was commended by head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford for how smart he is.

“He’s so smart. I think what can't be misunderstood or minimized is how smart this guy is,” said McVay during training camp. “He plays every single skill position except for halfback for us. Some of the things we ask of him, he does some of the roles we ask of our backs.”

Terrance Ferguson Entered 2026 With High Expectations

It was reported by Rams media throughout much of the summer that the ideal outcome for Ferguson was for him to lead the Rams’ tight ends in receptions and yards as he became their de facto WR3.

While Ferguson played a limited role last year, he created 20.6 EPA on 11 receptions. His 1.9 EPA per reception was twice as high as Trey McBride’s, albeit in a much smaller sample. Additionally, he led all tight ends in deep targets with 13 and two of his three touchdowns came on such plays. It’s also worth noting that Ferguson scored a touchdown in each of the three games he played last season without one of Nacua or Davante Adams.

Without Nacua, the Rams are going to lose some of their explosiveness in the passing game and that’s right where Ferguson fits in. It was a small sample last year, but he consistently showed big-play upside. That was also what he did at Oregon, where 25 percent of his catches went for 20 or more yards in his final season.

The biggest play in the passing game last week came on a 41-yard completion to wide receiver Puka Nacua. Those are the types of plays that the offense will miss without Nacua on the field, but it’s also where Ferguson can create.

Trying to match this Rams offense with base isn't gonna end well, especially when Terrance Ferguson is on the field. He's their field stretcher, and giving him a free release against a LB is gonna end up like this a lot pic.twitter.com/MrOnrWkAUO
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) November 12, 2025

Rams Need Terrance Ferguson’s Big-Play Ability

Ferguson had a disappointing Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers as he had zero receptions on just one target. If there was a silver lining, it was that the Rams clearly plan to use him, as Ferguson had a 73 percent route share and ran more routes than any other Rams tight end.

The Giants are good at linebacker with Terrell Edmunds and Arvell Reese. With that said, Reese is young and McVay should be able to take advantage of some of that inexperience. Using Ferguson to create behind the linebackers could lead to explosives for the offense.

Terrance Ferguson Could See Bigger Role Without Puka Nacua

Despite the Rams presumably leaning into 13 personnel this offseason, their tight ends combined for four receptions for 31 yards and didn’t have a reception until the third quarter. Without Nacua, the Rams will want to utilize their tight ends a lot more in the passing game, and that includes Ferguson.

It was expected that Ferguson would take a significant step forward in 2026, and without Nacua in the lineup, he should have an opportunity to prove that.It won’t just be one player who replaces Nacua on Monday night, but Ferguson has the versatility and big-play ability to fill some of that void.

With the Rams’ backs against the wall on Monday Night Football, there may not be a better time for the second-year tight end to announce himself as a major threat in the offense.

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