The Rams’ Week 7 availability picture changed in a way that matters: Trent McDuffie went from questionable to inactive, while Puka Nacua’s status moved from uncertainty to active. For the Raiders, the final picture still came with its own questions, including a questionable Mike Washington and a defensive-tackle shuffle that kept their own inactive list in focus.
That is the backdrop for Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium, where the Raiders host the Rams in a matchup that has been shaped as much by the final injury report as by anything that happened on the field this week. The game kicks off at 1:25 p.m. PT.
McDuffie’s status was the clearest late shift. He entered the day listed as questionable with a groin injury and did not practice all week, then was ruled inactive for the game. The Rams had already been dealing with a broader injury report that included Nacua as questionable because of a calf injury, after he left Thursday’s practice early. Head coach Sean McVay said Nacua took part in a majority of practice before leaving, and the receiver is active for Week 7.
That leaves the Rams with a mixed availability picture rather than a clean one. Nacua is available, but McDuffie is not, and the Rams also have multiple other players inactive, including Nate Landman, Bill Murray, Keagen Trost and Max Klare. Los Angeles will elevate inside linebacker Eric Kendricks from the practice squad because of Landman’s absence.
The Raiders, meanwhile, are dealing with their own roster questions. Their Week 7 inactive list includes tight end Carter Runyon and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, while running back Mike Washington is listed as questionable with foot and back issues. The draft of the day also includes a defensive-tackle jumble that has kept the Raiders’ front seven part of the conversation heading into kickoff.
That matters because the Raiders are trying to steady themselves after a three-game skid that followed a 3-0 start. They enter Week 7 at 3-3, and a win would put them in position to reach 5-3 if they can also handle the Jets in the next game. That is the path in front of them, but the immediate task is more basic: sort through the final personnel picture and play through it better than the opponent.
For the Rams, the late inactive announcement changes the shape of the matchup on one side of the ball. For the Raiders, the challenge is different but just as real: their own availability questions remain part of the story, and they have to manage them while facing a Rams team that still has enough talent to make the day complicated.
The injury report may have started the week as a broad cloud over both teams. By kickoff, it had become something more specific: the Rams are without McDuffie, Nacua is in, and the Raiders are left to answer the same question on their side of the field.