The Los Angeles Rams are likely to wait until Sunday to see if their top receiver, Cooper Kupp, will come back from his ankle injury, according to coach Sean McVay.
Kupp was marked as questionable on Friday for the Rams’ home game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Super Bowl 56 MVP hasn’t played since Week 2 for the Rams (1-4).
Kupp returned to practice in a limited way this week after Los Angeles’ bye. He had 18 catches in the Rams’ first two games, even though he hurt his ankle during their big loss at Arizona.
“He’s had a good week,” McVay said at the Rams’ Woodland Hills training facility. “He is making good progress, and there’s a possibility he’ll be ready to go.”
Kupp has played in just 23 of the Rams’ 39 games since the 2021-22 season, when he won the triple crown of receiving by leading the NFL in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown catches. He also excelled in the postseason, winning the MVP award in the Rams’ win over Cincinnati.
McVay mentioned that the Rams will think about the effects of having two games in five days on SoFi Stadium’s tough artificial turf when deciding Kupp’s availability. The Rams will also host the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.
“He has been pretty outspoken about how that turf feels, and it’s not the same as (a) grass surface,” McVay said. “I haven’t gotten into the specifics about that for him, but we do know that it’s this week, and then we’ve got a Thursday.
Both of those games are at SoFi, and I think what’s really important for him is … he looks good when he’s running routes out here, but what does that feel like when you’ve got somebody leaning against you in a contact situation?”
The Rams have been without their top two receivers for the past month, starting the season with the worst record of McVay’s eight-year tenure. Record-setting rookie Puka Nacua hurt his knee in the season opener and is still on injured reserve.
Backup offensive lineman Joe Noteboom is unlikely to come off injured reserve this week, even though he has returned to practice. Noteboom injured his ankle in the season opener.
Rookie receiver Jordan Whittington is expected to play despite having a shoulder injury.
