The Los Angeles Rams are off to a bad start in their bid to bounce back from a disastrous 2022 season. Head coach Sean McVay announced that All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp will miss the team's season opener against the Seattle Seahawks as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
#Rams WR Cooper Kupp is out for Sunday's opener against the #Seahawks, per coach Sean McVay.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 6, 2023
Kupp has been sidelined for much of the summer due to a hamstring pull suffered in the early days of training camp. He briefly returned before exacerbating the injury, at which point McVay deemed him "day-to-day." Kupp missed eight games during the 2022 season due primarily to an ankle injury.
Kupp is the centrepiece of the Rams offense and was arguably their most valuable player during their 2021 Super Bowl season. He led the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1947), and receiving touchdowns (16) over the regular season and followed it up with a postseason for the ages, totalling 478 yards and six touchdowns over four games before taking home Super Bowl LVI MVP.
When healthy, Kupp was also perhaps the only bright spot of a fundamentally broken Rams offense in 2022. Despite the Rams finishing 27th in points scored, Kupp still averaged an impressive 90.2 receiving yards and 8.3 receptions per game, more than double any other player on the team in both categories.
Simply put, the Rams have yet to prove they can resemble a competent offense without Kupp. They still have many of the key veterans that made them Super Bowl champions only two years ago, but without better injury luck, this year could look a lot like last year.
Photo Credit: © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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