Puka Nacua has had one of the messiest offseasons this year. The takes have piled up just as fast, with fans and analysts lining up to weigh in. But Michael Irvin isn’t buying the pile-on. Irvin defends Puka Nacua against harsh critics while offering the Rams star advice on handling the pressures of NFL stardom.

“Every 23- and 24-year-old kid is doing it, but you are Puka,” Michael Irvin said on the 4th And South podcast. “You see? So now everybody gonna make you think like you’re the worst dude in the world when they know every 22-23 do. So, you got to monitor that, too. You can’t just fall over it and let these people start marking you and make you that.”

“That’s an issue we have in this country. We’re always trying to put all of these moral strappings on 21, 22, 23-year-old kids that have fought their way out of a hell hole in the beginning, when we really should be undergirding them, and helping them, and giving them a little leeway on some of the decisions they may make.”

Puka Nacua is dealing with a lawsuit now, and it’s a serious one. A woman sued the Los Angeles Rams receiver this March for allegedly making an antisemitic remark and biting her on the shoulder.

This isn’t the first time Nacua has found himself explaining an offseason controversy, either. In December last year, he apologized after making an apparent antisemitic gesture during a livestream. He had also tried to bring in streamers Adin Ross and N3on to the Rams facility in Woodland Hills for content, but Sean McVay and the team’s PR staff quickly put a stop to that.

These controversies have added some unnecessary trouble to a career that was on a great run. Last season, Nacua recorded a league-high 129 catches, 1,715 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Ever since he joined the Rams, he has led the WR room in receiving yards every season. Last year was the second time in his still-nascent career that he went above the 1,000-yard mark.

Nacua is entering the last year of his rookie contract. Had these controversies not occurred, the WR might have been a lock for an extension. The Rams have also spent big to get some flashy players, like Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, who is now the highest-paid cornerback in the league. However, Nacua has to steer clear of any such troubles this year to fight for that contract.

“Some of the things I feel like I’ve learned is it’s OK to ask for support and to recognize that the platform that I have, being a professional football player,” Nacua said on his return to the Rams facility this May. “And trying to use that for the betterment of myself and for those around me, and the people that have supported me.

“It’s about continuing on the routine and habits I’ve established for myself this offseason. The consistency, the physicality that I play the game of football with is something I pride myself on. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s just understanding and developing as a wide receiver.

“I couldn’t imagine myself playing anywhere else.”