It is difficult to overstate how valuable Cooper Kupp is to the Rams’ offense, so to see him hobble off the field and head to the locker room with an injury is perhaps the worst thing that could happen to a team that was already laboring after winning Super Bowl 56.
Kupp exited Sunday’s contest against the Cardinals in the fourth quarter and did not return. Los Angeles was thus left without both its top wide receiver and No. 1 quarterback in a pivotal NFC West matchup.
Backup QB John Wolford was trying to find Kupp along the left sideline. As Kupp attempted to make the play, he appeared to roll his ankle. He hobbled to the Los Angeles sideline.
Cooper Kupp is grabbing his leg after the last play. pic.twitter.com/daG0LtZsBT
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 13, 2022
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The Rams have struggled in their bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions. They’re now 3-6 after losing to Arizona 27-17 on Sunday. Los Angeles came into the game ranked 31st in the league in total offense. Kupp, for his part, had caught 72 passes for 813 yards before Sunday, accounting for 35.5 percent of the team’s 2,288 total yards.
With Stafford out and Wolford in, Kupp struggled to get going Sunday. He caught three passes on five targets for minus-1 yard.
Here’s the latest on Kupp’s injury.
Cooper Kupp injury update
Kupp was injured with 14:24 remaining in the game and did not return. The team listed his ailment as an ankle injury.
Kupp had to be helped up after being hurt and then hobbled to the bench. He was taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
Does not look good for Cooper Kupp pic.twitter.com/V62wBidDQL
— Omar Ruiz (@OmarDRuiz) November 13, 2022
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After the game, coach Sean McVay said he didn’t have the full details on the injury, but that “it didn’t look good.”
“I just know it didn’t look good, it didn’t sound good.” – #Rams HC Sean McVay on WR Cooper Kupp.
Said he will check with medical staff for more details.
— Kayla Burton (@Kay_Breezy22) November 14, 2022
This is Kupp’s second time injuring an ankle this season. He was hurt against the 49ers on Oct. 30 but was able to return in that game.
This section will be updated as more information is available.
Rams WR depth chart
The depth behind Kupp at wide receiver is extremely suspect.
Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson would be counted on to play major roles in the offense, while Ben Skowronek would be expected to step up in Kupp’s absence and play on the outside. Brandon Powell and Tutu Atwell are the only other wide receivers with catches for the Rams in 2022.
Asking that group to replace Kupp is perhaps an impossible task. Combined, those five receivers entered the contest against Arizona with 60 catches for 607 yards, 206 fewer yards than Kupp’s total.
Kupp has split his snaps almost evenly between the slot and out wide. Skowronek and Powell are the only two players with more snaps in the slot than outside.
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