Cooper Kupp Injury Update: Will the Rams WR Play in Week 9?

We are now entering the ninth week of the 2022 NFL season, and daily practice reports are becoming longer and longer as injury updates pour in. Cooper Kupp sprained his ankle in the waning moments of the Rams’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week. Will the Los Angeles Rams stud wide receiver be out there for fantasy football managers this week?

Cooper Kupp Injury Update

After returning from his 2018 torn ACL, Kupp has been the pinnacle of health. The only game he’s missed since then was Week 17 of the 2020 season due to Covid. This week, Kupp’s 24 consecutive-games-played streak is in jeopardy for the first time in years.

Last week against the 49ers, with less than two minutes remaining while trailing by three scores, Kupp had his ankle rolled up on after a short reception. After the game, head coach Sean McVay was “kicking himself” for having Kupp in there, saying he should’ve just called a run play.

The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue said Kupp believed things were pointing toward “him dodging a bullet.”

High ankle sprains have derailed many a season in the NFL. Fortunately, Kupp was diagnosed with a regular ankle sprain. According to Rodrigue, McVay said he expects Kupp to play Sunday against Tampa Bay.

McVay has a pretty good track record of truthfulness when it comes to injuries, so we have no reason to doubt him. At the same time, we do need to see Kupp practice this week. He was absent on Wednesday, which is not necessarily the start to the week fantasy managers wanted.

The good news is that Wednesday practices are largely meaningless nowadays. This late in the season, any player dealing with anything will often get Wednesdays off. In fact, many veterans have been receiving regular rest all season. Ideally, Kupp returns to a limited practice on Thursday, putting him on track to play Sunday.

Will Cooper Kupp Play This Sunday?

Based on everything we’ve heard since the injury, Kupp appears on track to play. McVay said Kupp’s ankle showed no structural damage. For a standard ankle sprain, Kupp can wrap it up and play his normal complement of snaps.

In the event Kupp can’t go, Allen Robinson would be the presumptive WR1. Robinson has looked better as of late, but he really shouldn’t be operating as a WR1 at this point in his career. That said, with 13 targets over Robinson’s past two games, fantasy managers would have no choice but to look his way if Kupp is out of the lineup.

As for the WR2, Van Jefferson and Ben Skowronek would share duties. In Jefferson’s first game back last week, he played 53% of the snaps, while Skowronek played 62%. The biggest beneficiary of Kupp’s absence would likely be Tyler Higbee. It’s entirely possible he would be Stafford’s primary target in the passing game.

Be sure to check back throughout the week for updates on Kupp’s status. Going through the contingency plays is nothing more than…well…a contingency. As of now, I fully expect to see Kupp on the field for this week’s NFC Divisional Round rematch between the Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.