THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. _ Robert Woods, the Los Angeles Rams' leading receiver, will be sidelined at least a few weeks because of a shoulder injury suffered against the Minnesota Vikings, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
Woods sustained the injury after making a catch during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 24-7 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium, a defeat that ended the Rams' four-game winning streak.
Woods, who signed a five-year, $34 million free-agent contract before the season, caught eight passes for 81 yards against the Vikings.
He has a team-best 47 receptions for 703 yards and four touchdowns.
"It requires some guys to step up and fill the void left by Robert," McVay said during a news conference in Thousand Oaks. "He's done a lot of great things. ... Hopefully, we'll get him back sooner than later."
Tavon Austin, Mike Thomas, rookie Josh Reynolds and Pharoh Cooper could get more playing time in Woods' absence, McVay said.
"I think you could kind of see doing it by committee," McVay said.
Austin, who is earning nearly $15 million this season, has been used mainly as running back this season. But he got in for only two plays against the Vikings.
"Tavon is too dynamic of a playmaker to not try to get him involved a little bit more," McVay said. "You can sit here and make excuses that maybe we didn't have enough snaps and things like that, but it's on me, and I've got to do a better job for getting a feel for the flow of the game and finding a way to get him involved.
"Especially when that was part of our plan, and I kind of went away from that."
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