The Los Angeles Rams may have won Week 1, but they still remain shorthanded on the offensive end. Matthew Stafford was able to get the job done without his number one target in Cooper Kupp, who was placed on IR due to a hamstring injury.
Kupp suffered the injury during practice and endured a setback when he returned for joint practices against the Denver Broncos. He will miss at least the next three games of the 2023 season.
However, Sean McVay said he and the organization are hoping that Kupp can return as soon as he’s eligible in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“We are hopeful about that. I want to be careful to say, but the reason that we put him on IR was so that you know if it’s going to be those four weeks that he’s mandated to be able to miss and then we can take him off of the IR and be available for that fifth week,” McVay said. “That was the reason that we made that decision that we did last week because you don’t know what’s going to really come up. It doesn’t put a timetable on really rushing him back, allowing him to be able to go throughout a thorough process. He’s so conscientious and I think he wanted to be out there so bad that sometimes it’s, alright, well let’s protect you from you because you’re such an elite competitor. I want to be careful to put the cart before the horse that they say, but I’m hopeful about that.”
Kupp’s unfortunately suffered multiple injuries in his career, though McVay said he’s been able to hang in there because of his mindset.
“He’s mentally tough. He’s a resilient guy. I think those things can make you stronger if you take it the right way and he certainly is one of those guys. A lot of those things when you look at it, you say, ‘Okay, from a preventative maintenance standpoint, what can we do to prevent those things?’ He does all those types of things. Then there are certain things just based on if you look at some of the injuries, I don’t know that you can avoid some of them that are just unfortunate, but you talk about building that armor, building that resilience. Then there’s some things that come up that you’re saying, ‘Let’s figure out what really is going on so that we can get him feeling good.’
“But I’ve been incredibly impressed with how he’s handled it and really proud of him.”
Week 5 features a tough game against the Eagles, so McVay and the rest of the team certainly hope Kupp will be ready to go by then.
Sean Mcvay explains how Cooper Kupp teaches younger wide receivers
With Kupp out, the young receiver duo of Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua stepped up along with Van Jefferson. McVay praised Kupp for his ability to teach the young receivers and how he’s been able to make an impact on the sidelines.
“Well, a lot of that goes on in my absence. I think (WR) Tutu (Atwell) and Puca and (WR) Van (Jefferson), those guys would be better equipped, but there’s just such a credibility that comes. It’s one thing when we’re saying it, it’s another thing when Cooper is explaining it. I think to be able to articulate it through a lens that I’ve been in these exact situations. I know exactly what we’re looking for. He was there on the sidelines. He’s Coach Kupp right now and I think one of the coolest things that he’s doing is he’s finding ways to make (a) tremendous impact on this team even though he is not able to be out on the field.
“Cooper is a special person and he’s a special player. As special of a player as he is, he’s even more (of a) special person. I think what was the most powerful thing is that those guys asked and then wanted to make sure that… because usually guys that are on IR don’t make the trips to these away games and things like that, but those guys specifically asked because they wanted his feedback because of the way that he’s able to lead, and the information that he’s able to give them that could be digestible and then applicable. That’s really cool and I think those guys would be better equipped to answer it, but sure looked like he was giving them some good pointers.”
