Cooper Kupp To Miss Time With High-Ankle Sprain, But No IR Stint

The injury news for the 0-2 Los Angeles Rams continues to get worse as WR Cooper Kupp left Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals in a walking boot before ESPN reported that he would miss time with a high ankle sprain. On Monday, head coach Sean McVay did not put a timeline on the injury but mentioned his All-Pro wide-out would miss multiple weeks.

“I don’t want to put any expectations on — I know he’s going to want to be back as soon as he can, but I don’t want to put any expectations or unnecessary things on him. He’s going to do everything in his power to get back, whenever that is.”

ESPN also reported on Thursday that Kupp would not go on injured reserve, which would cause him to miss at least four games. This increased optimism that he could be back in a few weeks.

The Rams will be counting down the days until Kupp re-takes the field as their injury issues continue to mount. Along with Kupp, second-year WR Puka Nacua went on IR with a nagging lower-body injury that has bothered him since camp. McVay’s team also misses three of its top five offensive linemen with various alignments, placing two on IR. Veteran pass-catchers Demarcus Robinson and Tyler Johnson will be the starting WRs on Sunday.

Coming off of a Wild Card berth last season, the Rams were expected to make the playoffs and push the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West title. However, Los Angeles does not look like the same group as last year after getting blown out by the Arizona Cardinals on the road last Sunday. For the Rams to avoid falling to 0-3, they must beat the 49ers in San Francisco, where Hard Rock Bet lists McVay’s team as a touchdown underdog.