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Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp will not play on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury, head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
Kupp first injured his hamstring on Aug. 1 during a training camp practice and experienced a setback last week.
“He’s dealing with some soft tissue stuff,” McVay said. “[We’re] just trying to get him to feel back to normal. And when that ends up occurring, then we’ll have him back. But in the meantime, he will not be playing for us.”
“I know he wants to be out there badly and we want him to be out there, but we don’t want to rush anything.”
McVay did not rule out placing Kupp on injured reserve before Saturday, which would mean he would be out for at least the first four games of the season.
“You wish he was able to go, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys,” McVay said. “This is something that we probably thought was going to be the situation for a while now, so this isn’t anything new to us.”
McVay said Kupp’s journey with his hamstring injury hasn’t followed “the standard protocol for when you’re reaggravating a soft tissue injury.”
“[We’re] trying to continue to get a grasp on exactly what it is so that he can get back to feeling like the Cooper that we know and love,” McVay said. “And hopefully we’ll do that.”
McVay also ruled out rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. McVay said quarterback Brett Rypien will back up quarterback Matthew Stafford for Week 1.
Kupp had 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns in nine games before an ankle injury that ended his season. The year before, Kupp won the NFL’s triple crown of receiving, leading the league in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16).
“It’s been a really unique situation, to say the least,” McVay said. “But in regards to exactly how you would want him to handle the things that he can control, I think he’s done a great job. He’s stayed engaged, he’s leading in his way that he can right now, even though he can’t be out there with his teammates. And so, I’ve been really pleased and proud of that and I’m hoping that he will be able to get back with us sooner than later.”