Puka Nacua addresses "darkest times" in his life, fueled by "drowning" in alcohol

Rams receiver Puka Nacua had a difficult and challenging offseason. In an interview with Elle Duncan of Netflix prior to L.A.'s season-opening game against the 49ers, Nacua called his experiences the “darkest times I’ve had in my life.”

Nacua spent time in a holistic rehabilitation center. He was asked what he learned about himself.

“I think I learned that I’m very avoidant of conflict,” Nacua said, “which is very interesting due to the football nature of — I would like to say, I play very physical, just avoidant of the things that I know were causing me stress.”

Where did the stress come from?

“Just, I think, some of the change in lifestyle that came unto me, becoming a public figure, the stress of performing at a high level,” Nacua said. “And then I recently became a father. My son is 10 months old, and navigating that co-parenting relationship with his mother, I would kind of isolate myself to feel, like, the weight of all the issues and things that I have was stuck on my shoulders and not being willing to ask for help. I was never one to share my fears, my worries. I was always finding different ways to escape, I guess, from that tension or that stress.”

How did he deal with the stress?

“I think one, alcohol was definitely a thing for me. Just kind of drowning myself, so that the issues and the stress that I was feeling never had the opportunity to be addressed,” Nacua said. “But right when I entered the rehabilitation center, I was able to have open and honest conversations.”

There’s still a potential price to be paid. A civil lawsuit is pending. As PFT reported earlier in the day, Nacua has commenced the process of fulfilling a diversion program in lieu of prosecution, which could prompt the NFL to take action sooner than later under the Personal Conduct Policy.

Perhaps most importantly, the off-field issues undoubtedly have delayed Nacua’s reward for three seasons of high-level performance despite being a fifth-round pick. At a time when Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has a deal that averages more than $42 million per year in new money, Nacua enters the final year of his rookie deal, at only $5.767 million.

And he does indeed play with a very physical style. Which enhances the risk of injury. Which puts an even greater premium on shifting the injury risk to the Rams.

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