The Los Angeles Rams could be without one of their star players in their Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Former All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury and the team doesn’t quite know what the cause is.
As a result, Kupp was in Minnesota visiting with a specialist on Monday to try and figure things out. The injury originally occurred on August 1st and he has been steadily ramping up his activity. But, the most recent setback is concerning enough that he is now seeing a specialist.
Rams head coach Sean McVay didn’t have much of an update, saying that his star wide receiver remains day-to-day. A more concrete update will be coming on Wednesday, which is when the team has to share an official injury report.
“I think you just move forward, and you have to be able to operate with the situation and the guys we do have and if he’s able to go then that’s outstanding for us and, if not, then that’s kind of how we’ve been operating,” McVay said.
“I think the most important thing is that whenever he’s ready to take the field, whether that be this week, whether that be Week 2, whatever it is, as long as he’s able to have that return to performance, he’s feeling like the Cooper Kupp that we all know and love and he’s got some clarity on, all right, what is really going on? I think that will be a really good situation for us.”
The injury kept Kupp on the sidelines for virtually the entire training camp. He didn’t appear in any of the Rams’ three preseason games. Having to play without him is a worst-case scenario for Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, this is something that the Rams have become accustomed to. Kupp played in only nine games last season after suffering a high ankle sprain that required surgery. In 2018, he suffered a torn ACL.
If Kupp cannot suit up, the Rams wide receiving group is short on experience and production. Van Jefferson would step into the No. 1 role followed by Tutu Atwell and rookie Puka Nacua. Veteran Demarcus Robinson would factor into the mix as well.
Replacing a player of his caliber is virtually impossible. Kupp recovered the receiver triple crown in 2021, leading the league in receptions, yards and touchdowns en route to winning the Offensive Player of the Year award.
