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Rams’ Cooper Kupp ‘trending’ towards playing in Week 7

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints
By Matty Breisch | Last updated 10/16/24

After making waves earlier in the week by announcing that Cooper Kupp was going to return to practice in Week 7, albeit slowly, it turned heads around Rams Nation.

Suddenly, after watching ugly outing after ugly outing for Los Angeles’ finest over the first month and change of the season, with Matthew Stafford throwing to a different – read: worse – supporting cast with each passing week, the Cooper cavalry is seemingly coming to save the season, with Puka Nacua, Steve Avila, and company following close behind, right?

Maybe yes, maybe no, but after participating in individual drills at practice on Wednesday, McVay had some interesting things to say about the Rams Pro Bowl receiver’s immediate future.

“There’s a possibility that he’ll play, but we’ll see how today goes. He’s trending in the right direction, but we’ll see exactly what that means as the week progresses.” McVay said via Jordan Rodrigue on social media.

Whoa, trending in the right direction, you say? So even if the Rams don’t give Cupp the green light in Week 7, he might be back in time for Week 8, when LA takes on the Minnesota Vikings? Then again, if the Rams can’t make it out of Week 7 with a win over the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, it’s hard to imagine a world where they beat the Vikings at SoFi on week later.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) talks with wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) and wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) during training camp at Loyola Marymount University. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Cooper Kupp has been working individual drills for the Rams all week

Discussing Kupp’s slow return to the field for the Rams, McVay broke down in detail what the Pro Bowler has been focusing on during practice in Week 7, including his work with Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance, Reggie Scott.

“He’s working with Reggie [Scott] and his group. He won’t practice today, but he’s going to work with Reggie and his group. It’s a big workout that will then dictate, alright, what does that look like for his availability on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday if he’s going to play this week?”

Asked what he’s been working on on the field, McVay broke down Kupp’s recovery strategy, which including geting him back to peak form as a route runner.

“Game-like movements [and] running routes. 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,” McVay explained. “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.”

If Kupp is able to overcome the odds and make it back to the field in Week 7, who knows, maybe the Rams will be able to parlay his star power into a win over the Raiders, elevating their record to 2-4 while maintaining a punchers chance in the NFC Wild Card race. Sure, it probably won’t happen, but hey, the Rams had a slow start last season, too, and fans saw how that turned out.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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