'You Never Know!' Rams Update Cooper Kupp Injury

"It’s not something that we expect to drag on,'' Rams coach Sean McVay says of Cooper Kupp's hamstring injury, adding accurately, "but you never know with the soft tissue stuff."

Oh, the Los Angeles Rams need star wideout Cooper Kupp. They needed him when they were at the top of the NFL mountain, and they need him again if they are ever going to come close to climbing it again.

But Kupp now has a hamstring issue that may be forcing him to miss the rest of the preseason, and head coach Sean McVay is pushing for patience.

"It’s really day-to-day,” McVay said, which creates the impression that the issue is being downplayed. "He just felt a little tweak. It was a red zone route, just felt a little tightness in his hamstring. I don’t think it’s anything to be overly concerned with ...''

But ... there's a "but.'' ... because Kupp, at age 30 and along with Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald the most credentialed player on the roster, needs to be managed wisely.

"But,'' McVay therefore added, "we want to be able to be smart with him and I’m hopeful to get him back out here sooner than later.''

When is "sooner''? Hurrying back veterans so they can play in one of the meaningless preseason games, we say, is a fool's errand. McVay is talking about him returning to workouts in time for the mid-August dual practices with the Raiders. But again, we argue that Cooper Kupp is needed in September and beyond.

"He knows his body so well and he’s got a specific plan,'' McVay said. "As far as exactly when he’s back, I’m definitely hopeful that by the time we at least have our competitive practices against the Raiders, he’s able to get that kind of work because I think that is important.''

OK. But caution, right, coach?

"It’s not something that we expect to drag on,'' McVay said, adding accurately, "but you never know with the soft tissue stuff."

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