Cooper Kupp’s injury was devastating for the Los Angeles Rams last season. Sure, they still went on to win 13 games and reach the Super Bowl, but the offense didn’t look the same without him.
After he tore his ACL in Week 10, Jared Goff’s numbers plummeted, the Rams’ third-down efficiency dropped and the offense simply didn’t look as consistent as it was earlier in the year. Fortunately, he’s expected to be back for the start of next season, and on Thursday, the Rams provided a short video clip to show his progress.
During his press conference on Monday to open offseason workouts, Sean McVay also commented on Kupp’s status. As he’s said before, the goal is for Kupp to be ready for the season opener against the Panthers.
The Rams might take it a bit slow with his offseason workload when it comes to minicamp and training camp, but he should be ready to go when the season starts.
“He’s doing great. He’s right on track. The goal for us is to have him ready for Week 1,” McVay said. “I think he’ll be able to do some different things. He’s a guy that’s attacked his rehab the right way. But, for us, it’s let’s make sure we put him in the right position to be ready for whenever that opening date is. He’ll do some things individually, but as far as the specific plan and exactly where he’s at – the goal is to have him ready to return to performance, not necessarily competition, but performance where he’s playing at a high level, the level that we’re accustomed to seeing Cooper Kupp at for Week 1.”
McVay said because of how hard of a worker Kupp is, there will likely be times where the Rams have to reel him in and slow him down.
“I know that will be sometimes we’ll probably have to pull him back because he’s so excited to get going. But, that’s kind of the goal with where we’re at with him,” McVay added.
Kupp was the Rams’ leading receiver before he got hurt, catching 40 passes for 566 yards and six touchdowns. Getting him back fully healthy in 2019 will be a huge lift for the Rams’ offense.
