The Los Angeles Rams injury saga continues as they’ve moved two more (John Johnson III and Jonah Jackson) to the Injured/Reserve earlier this week. Head coach Sean McVay had originally lumped Cooper Kupp into those he considering moving to the IR for the ankle injury he sustained in the first half of the Arizona Cardinals game, but ultimately Kupp was kept off.
Fellow wide receiver Puka Nacua was added to the IR after Week 1. His earliest return would be in Week 5.
It is unclear the reasoning for this, whether it be they expect his return in less than the mandated four-week absence or that they’ve nearly exhausted their eight designated to return tags.
Cooper Kupp To Wear Cast Before Starting Rehab
But in terms of the severity of the injury it has been reported by the Los Angeles Times Rams beat reporter, Gary Klien that Kupp will wear a cast on his injured ankle this week, but it will not require surgery or any other procedure. Also, it can be inferred that the injury is not seen as season-ending, as they would not need to designate him for return.
Of course, this leaves the door open for Kupp’s return anytime between the upcoming game against the San Francisco 49ers (doubtful) and Week 18. And McVay didn’t offer any clarification on this timeline.
“I know he’s going to want to be back as soon as he can,” McVay said. “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.”
Cooper Kupp is no stranger to ankle injuries. In 2022, he missed the later half of the season with a high ankle sprain that required surgical repair. He also suffered an ankle sprain last season in Week 11. He did not miss time in this instance, though.
This points out the difficultly in predicting Kupp’s actual timeline. The NFL’s mean return time from this injury is 15 days with an amorphous mean return range of five to 27 days. 27 percent of players with Kupp’s in jury missed three weeks and 16 percent missed five or more weeks.
It has been 22 months since the Rams have played a game without either Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua on the field. In those eight games with out either the Rams offense was ranked 27th in the league in passing EPA.
