The Los Angeles Rams came out of their bye with a 20-15 win over the Las Vegas Raiders to improve to 2-4 on the season.
The Rams were again without star wideout Cooper Kupp, who returned to practice earlier in the week and had a chance to play in Week 7. However, the team decided to hold him out as he is not quite back to his usual self yet.
“He was close but ultimately, you guys heard me talk about it throughout the course of the week, it was about returning to performance and not necessarily returning to play. Hopefully Thursday will represent that for us,” head coach Sean McVay said of Kupp.
McVay confirmed that Kupp will return for the Rams’ Week 8 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings but isn’t sure how many snaps he will see, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Sean McVay said Cooper Kupp's workload for Thursday Night Football vs. Vikings is "to be determined."
"That'll be something that as we're putting it together and really diving into it, we'll have a better feel for," McVay said. "But definitely excited to have him back."
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) October 21, 2024
Kupp should boost a Rams wide receiver corps that has been limited to Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson, Tutu Atwell and rookie Jordan Whittington in recent weeks. Whittington has been dealing with a shoulder injury, which limited him to nine snaps against the Raiders.
Puka Nacua is still sidelined with a right PCL injury, but he could potentially return to action sometime in the next month.
Kupp caught 18 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in two games before his injury. Even at less than full health, Kupp’s presence will be a welcome sight for Matthew Stafford, whose production has dropped without the Rams’ top two wide receivers.
What did Rams’ Cooper Kupp work on in practice?
Sean McVay shared some details on what Kupp worked on in practice last week. “Game-like movements [and] running routes,” McVay said.
“He has such a good ability to be able to provide feedback. Whether you look at it as fortunately or unfortunately, he’s an experienced player [and] he knows what it looks like to have his body in alignment to return to performance, not just return to play. We do want to be smart with that.
“Is there a possibility of weighing in the short turnaround with a Thursday game? Ultimately, it’s about when is he ready to go and be the guy that that we’ve been accustomed to seeing. We’ll be excited about whenever that opportunity is and I’ll be kind of interested, just like you guys are, in how this is going.
“But even talking with him earlier today, he’s feeling good, he’s feeling optimistic, but he’s also very aware of what that looks like to be ready to roll and to maybe not quite be there yet so today will be a big day.”
