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Fox Sports
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Puka Nacua wants to 'go out at the top' like Aaron Donald and retire at 30
Puka Nacua is still on his rookie contract, but the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver is already thinking about his retirement plans. "I know I want to retire at the age of 30," Nacua said, while guest starring on the "Join the Lobby" podcast on Monday. "I'm 23 right now, I'm going into Year 3 — it wouldn't even be 10 years. It'd be maybe seven or eight. I think of Aaron Donald, to go out at the top, I think it would be super cool." Donald retired in March 2024 after 10 seasons with the Rams. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year might not have been at the peak of his career, but he was certainly still in his prime at the time of the decision. He was voted to the All-Pro first team for the eighth time in his career during the 2023 season, in which he had eight sacks and 53 total tackles. He left the game behind at 32 years old and just two seasons after the Rams won Super LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals. Seeing such a respected teammate in Donald make that decision impacted Nacua, who wants to follow a similar path. "I want to have a big family," Nacua said, specifying that he hopes for at least five boys. "I want to be a big part of their lives. And be as active as I can with them. Injuries are something that you can't control, and a part of the game. You never know. Hopefully, the rest of my career, I can be healthy. But, if you have shoulder surgery, you have knee surgery, you have ankle surgery, by the time my kids could be 18, I could barely be walking." Nacua was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and went on to set rookie records for most receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486). In 2024, though, he played just 11 games after suffering a knee injury in the Rams' opener against the Detroit Lions. He finished his second season with 79 catches for 990 yards and three touchdowns. Nacua has sustained knee, chest and shoulder injuries throughout two NFL seasons. He also sat out the Senior Bowl in January 2023 with a concussion. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox News
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
FOX Sports' NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira weighs in on ref controversy ahead of Super Bowl LIX
The conspiracy about NFL referees helping the Kansas City Chiefs has been one of the main conversation topics leading up to Super Bowl LIX. FOX Sports rules analyst and former vice president of officiating for the NFL, Mike Pereira, joined "Fox & Friends" on Friday to weigh in on the discussion. "I mean I think I would say what [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell said, which I try not to use harsh words. I understand why they think that, because the numbers point that different and the iffy calls seem to have gone the Chiefs way, but to think that there is intent is really ridiculous and that's the term that Roger used," Pereira said. "The officials are out just to manage the game, and they have to make decisions in one 26th of a second, and so they don't have time to factor in who made the foul, what color the team is. And so really, I understand the concern but it really won't affect the way they officiate this weekend." Pereira said the Chiefs were a great team and that they teach penalty prevention to their players. Their number of false starts is less, and penalties of that ilk the team works on eliminating. Pereira talked about how NFL teams will prepare for crews, but it is a little bit different to prepare for the Super Bowl crew. "You know this is different too, because teams do prepare for crews, but this is not a crew, this is an all-star crew. So they've come from seven different crews, so it's kind of impossible to judge where they might lean," Pereira said. Ron Torbert will be the head referee for Super Bowl LIX. He also was the lead referee for Super LVI, when the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals. The umpire is Mike Morton, Max Causey is the down judge, Mark Stewart is the line judge, Mearl Robison is the field judge, Boris Cheek the side judge, Jonah Monroe the back judge and Kevin Brown is the replay official. Cheek is the only other official with Super Bowl experience other than Torbert, as he has officiated in three other Super Bowls. With so many referees in the NFL, Pereira said it was hard to expect exact consistency across all calls. "Look, the parity in terms of number of fouls called this year is closer than I think I've ever seen it before. But you have different, you have 128 people, they don't have the same judgment. So it's hard to teach consistency or to expect consistency all the way through." There is one thing Pereira wants to see from the officials in the big game. "All I care is, you know what, is that they call in the fourth quarter the same way they call the way in the first quarter." With that being said, Pereira said he does not want to talk during the broadcast at all. "I hope you don't hear me, I hope you don't see me! If I don't mumble a word then that mean's there is not a controversy," Pereira said. The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX, where the officiating will be closely monitored. FOX's Super Bowl coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET Sunday. Coverage can be streamed live on Tubi for the first time. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
