Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp expected to miss time following MRI

After missing nearly half of the 2022 season, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is now expected to miss even more time as Los Angeles continues training camp.

Kupp suffered a hamstring injury for which he underwent an MRI on Tuesday. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, a source believes Kupp could return before the start of the 2023 season and the team will be “very cautious.”

Kupp led the NFL in receiving yards, catches and touchdowns in 2021 on the way to winning the Super Bowl. The Eastern Washington alum posted 1,947 receiving yards in the regular season with 145 receptions and 16 touchdowns. He added another 478 yards and six touchdowns on 33 receptions.

Nine games into the 2022 season, Kupp suffered a high ankle sprain that required surgery. The Rams moved him to IR where he remained for the rest of the season.

“I was really hoping to challenge to come back and be a part of last year still,” Kupp said during OTAs. “Unfortunately, things can’t work out that way.”

After winning the Triple Crown in 2021, Kupp’s numbers had taken a step back in 2022. Still, prior to his injury, the Super Bowl LVI MVP was Matthew Stafford’s favorite option by far with 98 targets.

He put up 75 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns in nine games for Los Angeles. All those numbers lead the struggling Rams offense by a wide margin. Without Kupp, LA ended the season at 5-12.

The 2023 season is Kupp’s seventh in the league. He signed a three-year, $80.1 million extension with L.A. last June.

Rams RB Sony Michel retires

Former Georgia star running back Sony Michel has retired from the National Football League, his head coach Sean McVay told NFL Network on Saturday night.

McVay had a conversation with Michel on Saturday morning and that’s when he broke the news to his head coach that he was hanging up his cleats. His pro career was, unfortunately, brief due to injuries.

He finished five years in the NFL, wrapping up his impressive career with 3,243 total yards and 18 total touchdowns. Michel had three seasons of over 800 rushing yards or more and he also wrapped up his career with two Super Bowl rings. He became the first player since Terrell Davis with more than four rushing touchdowns in one postseason. In 2018, his rookie year with the New England Patriots, Michel scored six touchdowns in three postseason games.

The LA Rams brought Michel back last month following minicamp, but he won’t be suiting up for them this fall. He was originally a first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Patriots.

On3’s Wade Perry contributed to this report.