Latest Rams Injury Updates For Cooper Kupp (Ankle)

UPDATE: The latest on Cooper Kupp’s ankle injury is that he is expected to miss “an extended period of time and could land on injured reserve,” according to head coach Sean McVay, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The Los Angeles Rams are unlikely to have the services of Cooper Kupp for the remainder of the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Just before halftime, Kupp was seen limping off the field, though he was walking under his own power.

Before his exit, Kupp had collected four of his six targets for 37 yards—not that it had amounted to much for the Rams.

The Cardinals went to the locker room with a 24-3 lead as Kyler Murray had gone off to the tune of 208 passing yards and three TD passes. Rookie WR Marvin Harrison Jr. must’ve been sandbagging in Week 1, as he already has four catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

The Rams announced that Kupp’s return to the game would be doubtful, and that held true, as he did not appear in the second half due to his ankle injury. He was later seen leaving the stadium in a walking boot.

Cooper Kupp Has Struggled to Stay Healthy in Recent Years

All-Pro WR missed 13 combined games in 2022 and 2023

The injury came at perhaps the most inopportune time possible for the Rams, who have been hit with an absolute deluge of ailments over the first couple of weeks of the 2024 season. They came into their Week 2 divisional matchup with the Cardinals limping, as QB Matthew Stafford was operating behind a makeshift offensive line that started several third-stringers and just two first-stringers.

Add on top of that the fact that L.A.’s other star wideout, Puka Nacua, left the team’s Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions early, and was placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 2. Nacua, along with starting offensive linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom, will not be eligible to return until Week 7.

All of that meant that Stafford, who is 36 years old with a history of back problems, would be relying all the more on his go-to-guy in Kupp for short, quick throws. That was clear with 21 targets in Week 1, and with six targets before the end of the first half, he was likely headed for a similarly busy day in Week 2.

If the injury occurred on the above play, it looks like it could be anything from a minor ankle injury to a high ankle sprain to his left ankle.

Before Rams fans get their panties in a bunch, the high ankle sprain that cut Kupp’s 2022 campaign short (costing him the final eight games of the year), was to his right ankle, so this wouldn’t be an issue of compounding a pre-existing injury.

Kupp also missed the first four games of the 2023 season with a hamstring injury, and never really seemed at his All-World best for most of the campaign. Many believed after his monster 21-target, 14-reception, 110-yard 2024 debut, he might be getting back to the ol’ triple crown Kupp that Rams fans know and love, but this ankle issue might put those hopes on the back-burner.

With both Nacua and Kupp out, Stafford is quickly running out of weapons, though he still has speedster Demarcus Robinson, gadget guy Tutu Atwell, as well as veteran Tyler Johnson and rookie Jordan Whittington. All four recorded multiple receptions on at least three targets against the Cardinals.

From a fantasy football perspective, Robinson and Johnson are probably the ones you want to roster, as Robinson will likely slide into the WR1 role and Johnson has had a strong start to the campaign.

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.