NFL Rumors: Los Angeles Rams Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp Expected Back for Week 5

The Los Angeles Rams should be getting some much-needed reinforcements in the coming weeks. At his Wednesday press conference, head coach Sean McVay revealed that wide receiver Cooper Kupp is "ramping up his workload" in the hopes of making a Week 5 return.

Sean McVay was asked if he expects Cooper Kupp to be ready to come off IR for Week 5 against the Eagles. "That's the hope," McVay said. Kupp is "ramping up his workload" and "progressing," according to McVay.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) September 27, 2023

Kupp was 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."

The Rams eventually placed Kupp on injured reserve before the beginning of the season, guaranteeing he would miss at least four games. Hamstrings are notoriously finicky, but it appears as of this moment he'll be ready to go in Week 5.

Kupp's return should provide the 1-2 Rams a boost at a critical juncture in their season. After a shocking 30-13 upset of the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, the Rams have dropped consecutive games largely due to the struggles of their offense. Week 3's 16-19 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was especially concerning: quarterback Matthew Stafford absorbed six sacks and threw a pair of interceptions.

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.

Despite a promising start to the 2023 season, the Rams of Week 3 looked a lot more like the 2022 Rams than the 2021 Super Bowl champions. They'll need Kupp in tip-top shape to keep their season from spiralling out of control. The Rams face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5.