Cooper Kupp won't return for the Rams at a potential tipping point of their season.
The All-Pro receiver is officially inactive to play Sunday against the Raiders, extending his absence to four games due to a high ankle sprain.
Kupp was limited all week and received a questionable designation Friday, with head coach Sean McVay saying a decision could come closer to game time. That decision ended up being a negative one for the scuffling Rams.
At 1-4, Los Angeles is currently looking up at the rest of the NFC West and stands even with the Carolina Panthers as the only teams in the conference not to achieve multiple victories entering Week 7.
It's a far cry from the year the Rams or Kupp expected so far, especially after L.A. took a strong Detroit Lions team to overtime in a season opener in which Kupp looked an unstoppable menace, totaling 120 yards and a touchdown on 16 touches.
But then Kupp sprained his ankle before halftime of a Week 2 shellacking by the Arizona Cardinals, his name becoming perhaps the biggest of all added to a large list of L.A. injuries in the early going that included fellow top wideout, Puka Nacua, who remains on injured reserve.
L.A. scored a surprise win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3 without Kupp but thereafter fell in consecutive one-possession games to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford has found a modicum of efficiency throwing to wide receivers Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson and Jordan Whittington, who all entered the season set up to be role players rather than heavily featured, but the scoring hasn't been there for a unit ranked 25th in points.
And Kupp, for years now Stafford's favorite target, is still at least a week away from helping rectify those woes.
Despite missing three-and-a-half of the team's five games during the 2024 season, Kupp still leads all Rams WRs in targets (27) and is tied for the most receiver receptions (18) with Whittington.
His dominating presence will once again be missed against the Raiders as the Rams' season nears the brink.
Los Angeles will attempt to notch a second victory without him when it kicks off against Las Vegas at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
