The Los Angeles Rams have been without their All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp this season, who was placed on injured reserve before Week 1. With Kupp needing to miss a minimum of four games, Sean McVay said the Rams still hope he can be activated off injured reserve in Week 5 and that he’s “ramping up his workload.”
Kupp sustained a hamstring injury early in training camp, prompting the Rams to sideline him from practice to allow him to recover ahead of the regular season. But with fewer than two weeks to go until the Rams would kick off the season against the Seattle Seahawks, Kupp suffered a setback with his hamstring injury.
Buy Rams TicketsSean McVay said Rams still hope Cooper Kupp will come off IR in Week 5 against the Eagles.
McVay said Kupp is "ramping up his workload" and "progressing," but there's a difference between return to performance and return to play. Rams are aiming for return to performance.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 27, 2023
After considering their options and Kupp seeing a specialist, the Rams elected to place him on injured reserve ahead of Week 1. The first week that Kupp could return is in Week 5 versus the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before taking on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, McVay continued to say the Rams are hopeful their star receiver could return in Week 5. And since his setback, the Rams have used similar verbiage in saying Kupp won’t return until he can ‘return to performance’.
Amid Kupp’s absence, both rookie Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell have emerged as legitimate threats at receiver for the Rams moving forward. While it’s a positive sign to see he’s increasing his workload off of the field, the Rams are understandably going to be cautious with Kupp before they activate him from injured reserve.
