Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp spent the offseason rehabbing from a high-ankle sprain that ended his 2022 season, but unfortunately went down again during training camp.
Kupp was diagnosed with a hamstring injury and the initial thought was that he would miss at least a few weeks. Soft tissue injuries like hamstrings are easy to aggravate, so the Rams have been cautious with their star receiver.
The wideout sat out the joint practice sessions with the Las Vegas Raiders last week, but was fortunately able to return to Wednesday’s joint practice with the Denver Broncos.
When discussing Kupp’s return to the field, Matthew Stafford couldn’t help but express how happy he was to see him back.
“It was great. He did a nice job today. It was a good day of practice, just like every one of them,” Stafford said on Wednesday. “There’s a few I want back, or we can look at, but for the most part it was really solid. I thought Cooper looked great, just happy to see him running around, smiling, having fun playing ball again.”
As far as how he looked, it sounds like Kupp didn’t miss a beat and that he and Stafford continued to impress, via James Palmer of NFL Network:
A few notes on #broncos and #rams joint practice:
– Stafford was locked in from start to finish. Including a fade to the corner for a TD in 2-min to end practice.
– Cooper Kupp vs Patrick Surtain was fun to watch. Kupp had a great day overall. Still one of the very best in the…— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) August 23, 2023
For the first time since coming to Los Angeles, Stafford is healthy prior to the start of the regular season and has been looking like himself. Stafford and Kupp make up the backbone of Sean McVay’s offense, so keeping those two healthy is key to the team’s success.
It’s good news all around for the Rams who can feel more comfortable knowing two of their core pieces are back in the fold. However, they still have a lot of work to do to keep up with the rest of the league.
Aaron Donald won’t practice with Broncos due to child on the way
Although Kupp was able to return to practice, Los Angeles will be without Aaron Donald who is expecting the birth of his fourth child soon. Donald will be missing reps, but he’ll have next week to make up for it and tune up before Week 1.
