The Los Angeles Rams have ruled out star wide receiver Cooper Kupp for their Week 5 game against the visiting Green Bay Packers, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
Kupp sprained his left ankle in Week 2 and has sat out since, though the Rams declined to place him on injured reserve, which would have required him to miss four games. Los Angeles has its bye in Week 6, so if Kupp returns for Week 7, he’ll have missed only three games.
McVay told reporters after Week 2 that the Rams were “kind of running out of spots” on injured reserve for players who can be designated for return. The team’s other top receiver, Puka Nacua, was placed on IR after the season opener.
Kupp, the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year, had 18 catches on 27 targets for 147 yards and a touchdown in his first two games of this season. He has racked up 585 receptions for 7,213 yards and 52 TDs since joining the Rams as a third-round draft pick in 2017.
As far as other Rams waiting to come off IR, the team plans to open the 21-day practice windows for injured cornerback Darious Williams and defensive tackle Larrell Murchison.
“I don’t want to put any unnecessary timetable on those guys, but I know they’re making good progress,” McVay said. “I think playing football and simulating some of the settings that occur in practice are going to be the best indicators. But they’re making good progress. That certainly isn’t something I would rule out — the possibility of them going.”
