The defending Super Bowl champions will be without the services of star wide receiver Cooper Kupp for at least the next four weeks.
While head coach Sean McVay stopped short of ruling Kupp out for the season, he did indicate that the 29 year old will require ankle surgery which typically has a recovery timeline of 5-6 weeks.
Los Angeles, who currently sit last in the NFC West with a 3-6 record, may ultimately opt to shut down Kupp for the remainder of the year unless they’re able to turn their season around in a hurry.
With their All-Pro wideout headed to IR, LA will have to navigate contests against the Saints, Chiefs, Seahawks, and Raiders without their number 1 offensive weapon. The Rams were already thin at WR prior to Kupp’s injury, but will now be forced to rely on Allen Robinson II, Van Jefferson, and Ben Skrownek in the coming weeks.
“Obviously you never ever replace a player like Cooper Kupp, but we’ve got to figure out the best way to accentuate the skill sets of the guys that will be playing,” McVay said.
The Eastern Washington alum suffered a severe high ankle sprain in week 10 vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Kupp’s departure will leave a massive void on offense as he accounted for 35.7% of the Rams catches heading into last week.
Kupp will undergo what’s known as a “tightrope” procedure on his ankle after an MRI revealed more damage than just a run of the mill sprain. “Let’s see how that procedure goes tomorrow when he gets that done. Let’s make sure that all the things that they initially thought based on what the MRI looked like were in alignment,” said McVay.
LA will need to begin piling up wins in a hurry if they have any hope of making the postseason. As it currently stands, San Francisco occupies the final wildcard spot, putting the Rams essentially 3 games out of contention heading into their contest vs. the Saints.
Complicating matters further is the fact that starting QB Matthew Stafford remains in the concussion protocol as well, meaning back John Wolford could be thrust into service once more this weekend.
If Los Angeles were to miss the playoffs, they’d become only the 10th team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl and miss the postseason altogether the next year.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.