As the Los Angeles Rams approached the 2026 NFL trade deadline, it seemed apparent that the team needed to find help in the wide receiver room after Puka Nacua’s multi-week injury was revealed.
With Davante Adams still on injured reserve and little out through Week 12, the Rams really needed to find help. But they didn’t make a move. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, NFL teams believed that the Rams made an attempt to trade for Los Angeles Chargers WR Ladd McConkey in what would’ve been a stunning deadline deal for the all-in Rams.
Rams rumored to have made trade attempt for Ladd McConkey
“The Chargers said no to at least one Ladd McConkey inquiry. Teams I spoke to believe the Rams were the ones to make that call,” Fowler reports. “Overall, though, the Rams didn’t seriously consider a receiver move because they expect both Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to return this season.”
The Rams being linked to wide receiver trade options made a ton of sense, and this rumored interest in McConkey would not have been a huge surprise.
With the injury status of Adams and Nacua uncertain, and both set to hit the open market this upcoming offseason, a controllable receiver like McConkey would’ve made some sense for the Rams.
Of course, the price of such a move would’ve been outrageous, especially since the Chargers likely weren’t willing to sell, and a trade would’ve needed to be an overpay to get a deal done.
Maybe if the Rams had their 2027 first-round pick, they would’ve been more capable of swinging such a blockbuster deal with the Chargers.
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But if the Rams can survive the next couple of weeks without Adams and Nacua, then their decision not to trade for McConkey, or any WR for that matter, will have looked like the right decision.
Adams and Nacua will come back, and in the meantime, Konata Mumpfield, CJ Daniels, and Tutu Atwell catching passes from Matthew Stafford might be enough to win in Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Rams might not have even been the team to inquire about McConkey, as it’s only a rumor from NFL teams that it was the Rams who inquired about the Chargers WR.
But regardless of whether the Rams were really interested in McConkey or not, it would not be a surprise if they were the team that checked in to see what it might take to acquire the 24-year-old WR.
