NFL Rumors: Los Angeles Rams Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp Trending Toward Week 5 Return

The Los Angeles Rams should finally have their talismanic superstar back on the field when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur discussed wide receiver Cooper Kupp's recovery from a hamstring injury during a Thursday media availability and said the All-Pro "looks healthy."

Rams OC Mike LaFleur said Cooper Kupp “looks healthy.” He said when Kupp was “gearing up for that first game” before he went on IR, “you could tell he almost could tell that something was still a little bit off. And from my vantage point, it looks like he feels really good.”
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) October 5, 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 head coach Sean 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.

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.

Kupp's return should also be an interesting test of rookie phenom Puka Nacua. The 2023 fifth-round pick has taken the league by storm, tallying a league-leading 39 receptions for 501 yards through four games. If Nacua can continue his torrid pace with Kupp reclaiming his typical target share, the Rams could suddenly find themselves with one of the NFL's best wide receiver tandems. That alone could be enough to transform the Rams into a contender this year.