Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay acknowledged on Wednesday that his team could see a star player return in time for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been injured reserve since the start of the season. He’s missed the Rams’ (2-2) first four games. Kupp suffered a hamstring injury during training camp and attempted to return a few weeks later but suffered a setback.
If Kupp can play against the Eagles (4-0), it’ll be his first action since Week 10 last season, when an ankle injury prematurely ended his season. Kupp caught 75 passes for 812 yards and six touchdowns before the injury.
Kupp was a pivotal component in the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl win. He had 145 receptions, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns that season.
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Kupp was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice and was upgraded to a participant for Thursday’s training session, according to the Rams’ injury report.
McVay said the team would use caution in reacclimating Kupp to the lineup.
“Let’s see this part of the game plan where we emphasize your early down parts of the game plan. Let’s see what we think is the best way, if he’s able to go, to utilize him,” McVay told reporters before Wednesday’s practice.
He went on: “If he’s not, who are those people that would supplement those roles, or what does it look like in the previous weeks? We’ll see how today goes, and then that’ll give us a better idea of what it looks like as we incrementally put in the game plan throughout the course of the week.”
McVay has relied on rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua as one of the players to pick up the slack while Kupp missed the first four games this season. Nacua has 501 yards with 39 catches this season.
The Eagles are undefeated, including last week’s victory against the Washington Commanders. A player to keep an eye on is defensive tackle Jordan Davis. He’s racked up 14 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Davis is in his second season and seems to be finding his groove. He could make life difficult for the Rams on offense.
“I definitely have more confidence now than I did 12 months ago. Just being here for a full season,” Davis told reporters on Thursday. “You know what to expect and how to prepare and what it takes to go out there and have success. You know that you’re here for a reason, and being the first-round pick last year, I felt that. But now I’m seeing it every day.”
How to Watch Eagles vs. Rams
The Rams will host the Eagles at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, starting at 4:05 p.m. ET. On Fox, Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play) and Greg Olson (analyst) will call the action from the booth. Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will report from the sidelines.
Betting Info for Eagles vs. Rams
The Eagles are favored by 4.5 points against the Rams, according to Friday’s odds on BetMGM. The over/under for the game is 50. The Rams are +180 on the money line, while the Eagles are -225. A $100 wager on a Rams upset would pay $280 on a winning ticket.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
