When will Puka Nacua return and play? Will Puka Nacua be back again this season? Read the latest Puka Nacua injury updates and return date for Week 9 (2025).
Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, Puka Nacua was the best fantasy football wide receiver in the NFL. He was dominating the league, posting consistently excellent targets, catches, and yards.
However, in Week 6, he rolled his ankle in the corner of the end zone against the Ravens and has not been able to return.
When will Puka Nacua be ready to return to action, and what is his fantasy football outlook when he does? Let's dive in.
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Puka Nacua Injury Update
Nacua's injury occurred while he was leaping to try and catch a pass, and he ended up getting tangled with Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey
The Puka Nacua injury. He had to be helped off the field. pic.twitter.com/gSUnDh8od9
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 12, 2025
Nacua did return to that Week 6 contest, playing only a few snaps and finishing with just two catches for 28 yards. He missed the Rams' Week 7 contest in London, where Davante Adams caught three touchdowns in a 35-7 victory.
After the Week 8 bye week, though, it looks like he's on track to return in Week 9 against the Saints.
Rams WR Puka Nacua is expected to return from his sprained ankle to play Sunday against the Saints.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2025
Nacua will need to put in regular practice time, but as long as he doesn't experience a setback, he should be good to go this Sunday.
Puka Nacua Fantasy Football Outlook
When Nacua is ready to return, he'll be an excellent play in all formats. Before Ja'Marr Chase's recent resurgence, Nacua looked like the best receiver in the NFL. He started the year with 52 catches in his first five games and was leading the NFL by a wide margin with 62 targets over that span.
Nacua had three touchdowns in his five games and four weeks of over 110 rushing and receiving yards. He was definitely the go-to option for Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay had him integrally involved in every game plan.
While he was out, Adams had five catches for 35 yards and three touchdowns, but no other receiver options really stepped up. Backup tight end Colby Parkinson actually led the team with 47 yards receiving, while the Rams relied on running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum to grind out the clock in their dominant victory.
When Nacua is back, he should step right back into a huge workload and be a starting option in all formats. Hopefully, he'll be back in the lineup in Week 9 and be back to making big plays like this one:
Puka Nacua takes the handoff 45 yards for a TD on 4th & 1!
LARvsTEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/1bioXMJ7rd
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 9 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Jordan Mason, Wan'Dale Robinson. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 9. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 9 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Jordan Mason, Wan'Dale Robinson. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 9.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 9 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 9 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 9 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 9 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Kimani Vidal, Rico Dowdle, Quentin Johnston, Tez Johnson, Jordan Mason, Wan'Dale Robinson compared to others:
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