Spectators watching the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday, August 1 felt their heart sink and were given a scare involving Cooper Kupp.
The 2022 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, already attempting to come back from a season-ending high ankle sprain, noticeably didn’t finish the latest full-padded practice for this reason: He walked off the field with an apparent injury per team reporter Stu Jackson, who added the 2021 All-Pro did not return.
As of late Tuesday night, Kupp was ruled with a hamstring injury per a Rams team spokesperson.
What Were the Reactions Involving Sean McVay & Matthew Stafford?
Obviously, a moment like this strikes fear into the hearts of the “Rams House,” especially following an injury ravaged 2022 that saw Kupp join the long list of Rams on injured reserve.
What was the reaction from Sean McVay?
The head coach got a brief view of what happened, sharing with the L.A. media at UC Irvine’s Crawford Field that Kupp “looked like he came up a little bit in a redzone route.”
However, when asked what exactly was the injury and the extent of it, McVay informed the media that he was not briefed by the medical staff of what happened to Kupp, or how severe it was.
“I saw he looked like he came up a little bit on a red zone route, and then I just know they told me he was out for practice,” said McVay to reporters (h/t Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic). “I have no more information than that.”
Meanwhile, Stafford claimed he didn’t see exactly what happened to his go-to wide receiver.
Kupp walked off the field with athletic training staff after the injury.
Again, an ailment like this brings a scare to the Rams — from the front office to the fans considering this is a captain and one of the pillars of the Rams.
As it was, Kupp was limited to nine starts last season as he went down in the home loss to the Arizona Cardinals on November 13. Kupp, additionally, dealt with a past ACL tear that prevented him from playing in Super Bowl 53 against the New England Patriots.
He was one of many notable Rams who didn’t finish out the season including Stafford (spinal cord contusion), A’Shawn Robinson (knee), former Rams wide receiver Allen Robinson (foot) and Aaron Donald (ankle). Kupp had a tightrope procedure on his ankle to repair the 2022 damage.
Tracing back to McVay, he can only wish for the best outcome involving Kupp.
“I hope he’s OK,” McVay said. “But I mean, we’ve got to be able to go practice. Guys have to be able to step up. Obviously we’re much better when he’s here, and you hope he’s going to be OK. But if he’s not, we’ll see what happens. The practice had to go on and that’s what happened today.”
Rams Also Had 2 Other Injuries
Kupp wasn’t just the only injury on Tuesday’s practice day.
Fellow wide receiver Ben Skowronek was another injured one, though the wideout who was experimented at fullback last season did not practice due to what was described as back soreness.
Defensively, outside linebacker Ochaun Mathis was revealed to have tweaked his ankle and is expected to miss a few weeks, per Jackson.
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Sean McVay Reacts to Scare Involving Rams WR Cooper Kupp