Although there were plenty of positives to take from the Los Angeles Rams’ scrimmage over the weekend, fans held their breaths when reports surfaced of wide receiver Cooper Kupp suffering an ankle sprain.
The timing of Kupp’s injury would have been hardly ideal with the start of the 2020 NFL season just weeks away. Fortunately, head coach Sean McVay has since been able to offer up some clarification.
While reports suggested that Kupp suffered the injury during the scrimmage, McVay revealed that he was already dealing with lingering lower leg soreness and it’s nothing to be concerned about, via ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry:
Sean McVay said Monday that an NFL Network report stating that WR Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle sprain during a scrimmage over the weekend was inaccurate. “He does not have an ankle sprain. He had had some soreness in his lower leg that had been going on for the last couple days, there was a specific play in which he communicated that he was feeling it, so we wanted to be cautious with him,” said McVay, adding that x-rays came back negative and that he expects Kupp to be ready for the opener.
This is certainly an encouraging update from McVay given the initial reports. Despite wanting to get Kupp some live reps heading into the 2020 campaign, they already had precautions laid out in order to avoid any potential setbacks.
McVay’s comments indicate that Kupp is fully prepared to help usher in a new era at SoFi Stadium when the Rams host the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener. For now, it is safe to assume that they will continue to monitor his activity closely to close out training camp.
Kupp’s status should open the door for more first-team reps for wide receivers Josh Reynolds and Van Jefferson in practice. This should help pay some dividends when it comes to establishing the new pecking order in the passing game for quarterback Jared Goff.
Jefferson has managed to turn heads in camp so far with his skill set exceeding well beyond that of the average rookie. It is safe to say that Reynolds may have his work cut out trying to fend him off for the No. 3 spot in the receiving corps.
Meanwhile, Kupp will be looking to build on a stellar comeback season in 2019 that saw him register career highs in receptions (94), yards (1,161) and touchdowns (10).
