When Rams receiver Puka Nacua announced that he wanted to retire from the NFL at the age of 30, citing his health, wanting to be there for his family in every way, and wanting to spend more time with his loved ones, it made a lot of sense.
For some reason, he has come under criticism for it with some questioning his dedication to football, to the Rams, to his teammates, and some believing he has hurt himself in future contract negotiations.
Everyone who has echoed those sentiments has missed the point by a considerable margin.
Here's the reality. The Rams care about one thing when it comes to Nacua, the player. Does he show up? He does. That's it. The people inside the facility, people who constantly have to find that work-life balance, know exactly where he's coming from, so this notion that the NFL doesn't like players who have that balance doesn't exist as long as they perform on the field.
That's why when Colin Cowherd and others made comments about Nacua's words, it missed the mark.
"Don't love it," said FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd on "The Herd. "NFL general managers, they're not looking for work-life balance. They don't care. They want you to be obsessed. And I think it actually puts a light on Puka."
You don't think Les Snead, a husband and father, doesn't struggle to find that work-life balance himself like all working people? It doesn't put a light on anyone. Why? Because the NFL is a year-to-year business.
Do we really think Snead has any concerns about the 2031 season? The season Nacua might retire in? No, he doesn't. He knows Nacua is playing this year, and he knows, barring injury, he's playing next year. That's the priority.
Nacua wants to spend a total of nine years with the Rams. Cooper Kupp only spent eight, but no one was up in arms about the Rams moving on. Aaron Donald spent ten years, and he's a franchise legend. Donald is also healthy, rich, and enjoying his life. Notice how the Rams still love him.
"Nobody's looking for humanity," Cowherd said. "They're looking for 18, 19 games. 120 catches playing hurt. That's what they're looking for. You gotta play hurt, this is not baseball. There's a game tomorrow. There's not. My groin, yah. Get over it. Everybody's hurts."
Donald played hurt, Donald produced, and football is over for him. What is the difference between the path Donald walked and the one Nacua is walking? Nacua played hurt, he produced, and he knows when football might be over for him.
Football is a phenominal sport. Football is not life. General managers care about production, they don't care about the steps it takes for players to produce, they just need them to produce.
We should be praising people like Nacua. He is what the league wants to promote. He represents what all players should aspire to be and for the players that dedicate themselves to family. Those are the true representatives of the values put forth from football.
Those players are not the ones you criticize. For what they do at home, more importantly, the home they create is far greater than what they can accomplish on the football field.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as COLUMN: Criticisms of Rams Puka Nacua Are Off-Base.