Aaron Donald and Puka Nacua’s candid reaction to alarming CTE study

See more of our coverage in your search results.

Aaron Donald and Puka Nacua have spent their NFL careers building a reputation as strong, physical players. 

Both Los Angeles Rams stars have made millions playing one of the most violent sports on the planet. But Thursday, they were confronted with a sobering reminder that football’s most devastating hits might not reveal their consequences for decades.

A groundbreaking study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open by researchers at Boston University, Mass General Brigham and the Concussion & CTE Foundation, estimated that 74.5% of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease associated with repetitive head impacts. 

When asked about the findings after practice, Donald appeared genuinely rattled.

“Damn, man. Why? We don’t want to bring that to this. We don’t want to talk about that, man,” Donald said. 

“Obviously, that’s a real thing, but damn, that’s deep, man. I ain’t think about it till you just said something about it.”

Donald attempted to lighten the mood, asking reporters to change the subject.

“Give me another one, man. Dude, goddamn, y’all made it dark.”

But the 35-year-old defensive tackle acknowledged the uncomfortable reality.

“I think when you’re playing the game, you don’t think about it. You just play, right?” Donald said. “I think when you sign up to play football, you know what you’re signing up for.”

Nacua, 25, offered a noticeably different perspective.

“As being a younger player, I’m grateful for the information that they’re trying to gather for some of the long-term effects,” Nacua said.

The Rams receiver praised the NFL’s efforts to improve player safety, including Guardian Caps and adjustments to practice physicality.

Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, weighed in on the study on her Instagram story on Thursday and specifically called for the NFL to do away with turf fields and implement natural grass surfaces like FIFA did across all NFL stadiums during the 2026 World Cup.

The study examined 2,362 deceased former players, accounting for potential selection bias in brain donations. Researchers cautioned that their findings cannot predict CTE prevalence among living NFL players, and the disease can currently be definitively diagnosed only after death. 

That means neither Donald, Nacua or any of the other 1,696 active players in the NFL won’t know what their futures hold. 

That’s perhaps the most unsettling part of a sport where players understand the immediate dangers, but the ultimate price may not become apparent until long after the final whistle.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters