The Los Angeles Rams just traded running back Jarquez Hunter to Miami to bring back wide receiver Tutu Atwell, a familiar face who left in free agency just five months ago. Head coach Sean McVay insists that it had “nothing to do” with the growing uncertainty around star receiver Puka Nacua.
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“It had nothing to do with that,” McVay told reporters after the final preseason game. “It was exclusively a guy that we were familiar with that you could really get at what we felt like was good for us and good for Jarquez. I think he’ll do a good job for the Dolphins.”
The trade went down Thursday, with the Rams sending Hunter to Miami for Atwell. The 26-year-old Atwell was a 2021 second-round pick who spent five seasons in Los Angeles, catching 105 passes for 1,535 yards and five touchdowns. However, this March, the Rams let him walk into free agency after his one-year, $10 million contract ended.
A major part of that decision was based on how the Rams have shifted their offensive identity from relying on 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) to 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends, one wide receiver).
It was the first time under McVay that the team shifted that way. It was mainly because they were short on receiver corps. Atwell pulled his hamstring last October. Then Nacua rolled his ankle and missed the Week 7 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Atwell had signed a one-year, $1.4 million deal with the Dolphins in March. Now he will be sliding into a receiver room that features Nacua, Davante Adams, and Jordan Whittington.
“He [Tutu] adds depth. It gives us an opportunity to be able to have that speed element, and he can do some different things. It had nothing to do with anything other than just adding depth to the receiver room,” McVay added.
No matter how many times McVay says “nothing to do” with that, the timing seems to be connecting all the dots. Over two weeks ago, ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Nacua could face a suspension and miss the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
“There are some things going on behind closed doors that we don’t have full access to…what I’m talking about is the potential discipline for a handful of players that we believe will be handed down, whatever it is, by the start of the regular season,” Schefter said on the Adam Schefter podcast.
“Cases that I believe are now being reviewed include that of the Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, who could potentially face discipline for some of the offseason headlines that accompanied him.”
A civil lawsuit was filed against Nacua in March for gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence, per ESPN. The lawsuit claims that Nacua made an “unprovoked antisemitic statement” and bit plaintiff Madison Atiabi on the shoulder on New Year’s Eve. The trial date is set for March 2028 by an LA County judge.
Apart from that, Nacua had also made an antisemitic hand gesture on a live stream last December. He had publicly apologized for that, saying “at the time he had no idea” of it being linked to “harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.”
Given how serious the NFL takes its personal conduct policy, Nacua could receive a multi-game suspension. The league can punish its employees for any behavior in violation of its policy, even if the charges or suit are dropped. That is why the Rams are preparing for both futures. And why Atwell’s return feels less like depth and more like insurance.