Rams players support Puka Nacua after rocky offseason: 'He's our brother'

After an offseason of negative media attention, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is turning his attention back to football. Attending the first day of the Rams' offseason program, Nacua was embraced by teammates as he enters a contract year and a potential date with destiny, as he is one of the favorites to win 2026 Offensive Player of the Year.

Several players spoke to the media on Monday about Nacua, including Steve Avila, Quentin Lake, and Kobie Turner. Avila and Turner are fellow members of the 2023 draft class with Nacua, while Lake is a team captain, along with Turner.

Avila spoke about how he supports his brother on offense.

“Extending your hand out, especially at times like this, is definitely the one thing that you can do," stated Avila. "Puka knows he has a great support system around him, and I think that's who he's leaning on right now. I feel that as a person, that's all you can do is extend the hand. I know he's taking care of everything right now. I know that he knows that we all love him and we're going to do everything we can to help him. He definitely has his head on his shoulders. We're going to let him go through that stuff and I know he's going to learn from everything.”

Avila, one of the friendliest people you'll meet, has a tremendous personal relationship with several members of the organization, inclduing Nacua.

Lake also added how he goes about supporting Nacua.

“At the end of the day, being authentic and genuine to myself," Lake said. "That's my brother. I love him to death. He’s one of the greatest human beings I've ever got to work with and be a part of. At the end of the day, all we can do is rally around him. That's it. As a team, we love him to death. We know who he is as a person and as a football player. We’re just making sure we're there to support him.”