Rams WR Kupp (hamstring) to start season on IR

Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff WriterSep 9, 2023, 02:11 PM ET
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SEATTLE — The Los Angeles Rams have placed wide receiver Cooper Kupp on injured reserve because of his lingering hamstring injury.

Kupp will miss at least four games while on injured reserve: trips to Seattle, Cincinnati and Indianapolis and home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Earlier in the week, Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged that the IR stint was a possibility, as Los Angeles does not want to rush Kupp back from the hamstring injury he initially sustained during an Aug. 1 training camp practice and aggravated last week.

McVay said Wednesday that Kupp’s injury hasn’t followed “the standard protocol for when you’re reaggravating a soft tissue injury.” Kupp saw a specialist in Minnesota earlier in the week to get to the root of his hamstring issues.

“[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.”

Kupp has not played in a game since Week 10 of 2022 after an ankle injury ended his season. He had 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns in nine games.