McVay – Kupp back after bye would be ‘ideal’ but not guaranteed

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said though the team was hoping wide receiver Cooper Kupp could return after the team’s Week 6 bye, he cautioned that “by no means is that guaranteed.”

Kupp has not played since he sprained his ankle in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals.

“That would be an ideal target, yes,” McVay said “…That is something that in an ideal world, yeah, he’s ready to go.”

McVay said Kupp was doing “some specific work” over the last couple of days with the Rams’ medical team and that McVay hadn’t talked to that group before his news conference Monday.

“[Week 7’s game against the Raiders] was always an optimistic target date just based on a few weeks back that we had set,” McVay said. “But by no means is that guaranteed.”

McVay said he hoped Kupp would be able to practice after the bye, but that until he spoke to the medical team, he “won’t be able to appropriately answer that one.”

Despite saying Kupp would be out “an extended period of time” because of the injury, the Rams did not put the receiver on injured reserve. If a player is put on injured reserve, he is required to sit out four games, not four weeks, so Kupp would not have been eligible to return until Week 8.

In two games this season, Kupp has 18 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.

McVay said Monday quarterback Matthew Stafford was dealing with some back soreness after the Rams’ Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers, but that he didn’t expect it to affect the quarterback’s availability after the bye week. Stafford has been sacked 16 times this season, including three times Sunday.

“This guy’s been playing for a long time,” McVay said. “He’s as tough as it gets. He took some shots yesterday, he’s taken some shots this year and throughout the course of his career.

“So [I] think he just had a little bit of back soreness and it’s something that we want to monitor. … Didn’t want to make it too big of a deal because we don’t expect it to be something that does limit his ability to participate in practice when we do get back here.”