Amongst team sports, pro football players have the shortest careers due to the obvious rigors of playing tackle football. The average career length of an NFL player is just 3.3 years, so those who do make it to the highest level within football usually want to stick around in the league as long as possible. However, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua isn’t of that mindset, as the Pro Bowler has already set an end date for his NFL career, which just began in 2023.
Donald, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner with the Rams, retired after the 2023 NFL season, his 10th in the league. He last played at 32 and was still one of the elite at his position, being named first-team All-Pro in his final year.
In his reasoning for wanting to step away from the game at a young age, Nacua talked about wanting to have a big family and a “starting five” when it comes to kids. That would mirror what he grew up with as he has five siblings, including three brothers who, like Nacua, also played football at BYU.
Perhaps a turbulent 2024 season is playing a part in Nacua already looking ahead to life after football, as he has dealt with several injuries. He first hurt his knee during a joint practice with the Los Angeles Chargers in training camp but recovered in order to suit up in Week 1.
However, it was during that season opener that Nacua suffered a more serious injury. He suffered damage to his PCL in his knee that resulted in him being placed on injured reserve. Nacua would miss the next five games as the Rams got off to a slow start and a 2-4 record.
It wasn’t the first time that Nacua got hurt in a season-opening game as the same thing happened in Week 1 of his final college season in 2022. Nacua, while playing for BYU, sprained his ankle in the first game and would miss the next two contests before returning in Week 4. However, he then reinjured himself and would miss Week 5, so the mounting injuries, even at just 23 years old, are a huge factor in Nacua setting an end date on his football career.
“The injuries are something you can’t control [as] part of the game, so you never know,” Nacua said. “Hopefully, the rest of the career can go healthy, but you have shoulder surgery, you have knee surgery, you have ankle. By the time my kids could be 18, I could be barely walking if you play the game and sustain all the injuries and stuff like that, but I want to retire early.”
The Los Angeles Rams franchise has become infamous for focusing on the present instead of the future, by way of trading future NFL Draft picks for assets that can help them right now. Thus, they likely aren’t overthinking whether Nacua will still be with them after the 2031 season when he’ll be 30 years old. If the Rams get similar production from Nacua over the next seven years as they’ve gotten over his first two seasons, then they’d gladly accept Nacua walking away at the top of his game as Donald did.
NFL Rookie Records
That sophomore season came on the heels of one of the finest rookie years in NFL history. In 2023, Nacua, who was a fifth-round draft pick and was the 20th wideout selected, set new NFL rookie records for both receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486). That earned him a Pro Bowl nod and a second-team All-Pro selection, and he finished runner-up to C.J. Stroud in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.Then, in his first NFL postseason game, Nacua made more history with nine receptions for 181 yards and a score. The yardage set a new single-game record for a rookie in a playoff game, which was subsequently broken by the Chargers’ Ladd McConkey (197 yards).
Even with all he’s accomplished, Nacua may be asked to contribute even more in the 2025 NFL season because the Rams moved on from longtime wideout Cooper Kupp, although they picked up veteran Davante Adams to take some pressure off Nacua, Matthew Stafford, and the rest of Los Angeles’ offense.
