‘He’s Ready To Go,’ ‘Literally The Call He’s Waiting On’ — Rams Urged To Target Former Texans All-Pro as Puka Nacua Fill-In
· Yahoo Sports
DeAndre Hopkins has spent this fall coaching receivers at Georgia Tech, but ESPN analyst Max Browne said Monday that the 34-year-old “works out to stay ready” in case an NFL team calls.
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The same day, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay revealed that Puka Nacua has MCL and PCL sprains and turf toe. Nacua caught 14 passes for a season-high 150 yards in Sunday’s 20-13 win over the Washington Commanders before taking a hit to his right knee on the team’s final offensive play.
Rams Urged To Target DeAndre Hopkins as Puka Nacua’s Replacement
Talking to “The Athletic LIVE,” Browne traced his pitch back to a conversation over the weekend. “I kid you not, on Saturday I was calling the Georgia Tech game, and their assistant receivers coach is DeAndre Hopkins. I was chatting with him on the field.”
Hopkins began the season as an assistant on head coach Brent Key’s staff, and a losing fall reshuffled it Monday. Key fired four assistants, including receivers coach Jafar Williams, after Georgia Tech fell to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the ACC with a fourth straight conference loss.
Browne noted what that meant for Hopkins. “He just got elevated to receivers coach today because Georgia Tech had some firings.” The promotion gives Hopkins a bigger role for Georgia Tech’s final three games.
Browne, though, thinks an NFL team should be the one calling Hopkins next: “Give D-Hop a call. He’s ready to go.”
In the same breath, Browne was careful not to oversell what a team would be getting. “I’m not saying he’s the D-Hop he was six years ago, but that’s literally the type of team and call he’s waiting on.”
Hopkins’ 13th and most recent NFL season came with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025, when he caught 22 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns on 39 targets. He described the kind of opportunity he wanted in a June radio interview, before Georgia Tech hired him in July, saying, “I would love to play for a competitor if that time came.”
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Meanwhile, McVay gave no firm return date Monday but put a floor on Nacua’s absence. “It’s a strong chance that we put him on IR. So we’re thinking it’s going to be at least a month.”
McVay also second-guessed the play call that ended Nacua’s day. “I’d be lying to you if I said I haven’t questioned the decision-making on that last play over and over in my head … it’s stuff that I feel tremendous responsibility for.”
That timeline would keep Nacua out of Sunday’s trip to face the Arizona Cardinals and, after the Week 11 bye, home games against the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 25 and the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 3.
The Rams would be without one of the league’s busiest pass catchers during an important stretch. Nacua has 70 catches, tied for third in the NFL, and 715 receiving yards, seventh in the league, with four touchdowns in seven games through Week 9. Pro Football Network’s NFL WR Impact Grade has Nacua at 86 through Week 9, sixth of 79 wide receivers.
The Rams, 5-4 and third in the NFC West, were already playing without Davante Adams, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, with Nacua’s injury adding to their problems.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.