LOS ANGELES (AP) — All-Pro Rams receiver Puka Nacua left practice early with a calf injury Thursday, creating yet another major injury concern for Los Angeles.
Nacua couldn't finish the Rams' second practice since they lost six-time Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams for six to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury.
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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Konata Mumpfield during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, has his face mask grabbed by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jack Gibbens during the second half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua falls after making a touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
Nacua has 37 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown while playing in just four games this season for the Rams (2-4), who have lost three of four in a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. Nacua missed two games last month with an injury centered in his groin and hip, but returned for their past three games.
Nacua is vital to the Rams in Adams' absence because they are relatively thin behind their two star wide receivers. The only other wideouts who have caught a pass for Los Angeles this season are second-year pro Konata Mumpfield, veteran Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington.
Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions last season for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 2023 fifth-round pick was one of the most productive receivers in NFL history during the first three seasons of his career, and he currently has 350 receptions for 4,608 yards and 20 touchdowns in just 48 regular-season games.
The Rams were labeled a super team and anointed as Super Bowl favorites at the start of the season, but injuries have played a major role in their inability to live up to those predictions.
AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett made no tackles in his Rams debut before going on injured reserve for knee surgery, and he has yet to return to practice. Star cornerback Trent McDuffie missed last week's game with a groin injury that has kept him out of the Rams' first two practices this week, while key defensive linemen Kobie Turner and Poona Ford are also out with injuries.
The Rams lost 18-16 to rebuilding Arizona last Sunday. They travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday.
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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Konata Mumpfield during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, left, has his face mask grabbed by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jack Gibbens during the second half of an NFL football game in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua falls after making a touchdown catch during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday that the Trump administration remains “full-bore ahead” with a sweeping reorganization of the Forest Service and other agencies after a judge blocked the changes last week.
The administration wants to move Forest Service headquarters from Washington to Salt Lake City, shutter 23 research stations, and close many regional offices and replace them with state offices. It's part of a broader realignment at the Agriculture Department that also would change programs for food and nutrition, rural development and other services.
For now the plan is stalled under court order. But that's already under appeal, and Rollins made clear Thursday that the administration hasn't given up.
“We are full-bore ahead in the reorganization,” Rollins said during a conference call with reporters following an announcement on fertilizer production. “We believe in it more today than we ever have — taking the USDA to our constituents, which is rural America, the Forest Service out West.”
Administration officials say the reorganization will trim costs and further concentrate resources in Western states that are home to nearly 90% of national forest lands.
Federal employee unions, environmental groups and local officials, including in California, Maryland and Washington state, are trying to quash the plan. They say the shuffling of employees is a ploy to achieve the administration's goal of deep cuts in the workforce.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in California sided with those arguments in an Oct. 13 order halting the reorganization while a lawsuit from opponents works its way through the courts.
“If implemented, the planned reorganization activities will likely put thousands of USDA employees to the choice of relocating far from their current home — often to a different state — or losing their job,” Chhabria wrote. He said the administration “almost certainly” violated congressional restrictions on using money on the reorganization that was intended for other purposes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been eliminating layers of management as part of President Donald Trump’s push to slim the federal workforce and make it more efficient.
Trump also wants to take away one of the Forest Service's most prominent roles — fighting wildfires — and transfer responsibility to the new federal Wildland Fire Service. Congress so far has blocked that move.
With wildfires getting worse in recent decades due to climate change, battling them has consumed a greater share of the Forest Service budget. That's forced officials to look for cost savings elsewhere.
It's not clear how much the reorganization will actually save, said Chris Iverson, who spent almost three decades at the Forest Service before retiring from a leadership position during Trump's first term. Yet Iverson said the changes could result in the loss of personnel with extensive experience, including battling wildfires.
He added that the elimination of regional offices and creation of state offices could open the door to more influence by governors pushing the interests of the timber, oil and gas and grazing industries.
“It's just going to be a closer alignment of Forest Service leadership with state government priorities,” Iverson said.
Gov. Spencer Cox in Utah has described the Forest Service reorganization, including a new headquarters in Salt Lake City, as “a big win for Utah and the West.” GOP lawmakers said it would ensure agency officials get more local input.
The administration last month scaled back part of its plan and said 41 research facilities across the country that faced possible closure would remain open. Almost two dozen research stations still are slated to close.
The Forest Service workforce has been cut about 16% under Trump, from more than 39,000 employees to 33,000, according to government data.
During his first term, Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management to Colorado, citing many of the same reasons — including a desire to put top officials closer to the public lands they oversee. The Biden administration reversed course, moving BLM headquarters back to Washington, D.C., after two years.
The National Federation of Federal Employees union said a survey of Forest Service workers showed a large majority opposed the pending reorganization plan and most were unwilling to relocate.
FILE - Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks with reporters at the White House, Aug. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
In this photo taken with a phone, golden larches glow in the sunlight in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, near Mazama, Wash., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)
