Rams resting Kupp Week 17 no brainer, but hopefully knee won’t be issue in playoffs

The Los Angeles Rams are taking the safe approach with Cooper Kupp and his knee soreness by resting the rookie in Week 17.

Back in April, the Los Angeles Rams felt confident enough that Cooper Kupp would end up being one of the biggest steals from the NFL Draft, and based off the production from his first year with the team, it’s safe to say they were right on the money. Despite all of the concerns surrounding the former Eastern Washington being able to adjust to the NFL after spending his college days at a smaller school, Kupp has been one of the best additions for the Rams this season, and if year one is any indication of what the future holds, Jared Goff is going to be quite happy.

With opposing defenders focusing most of their attention on other key players like Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods along with Tavon Austin failing to make an impact on offense as a wideout, Kupp has certainly taken advantage of his role on offense for Los Angeles as a rookie. And after catching 62 passes during the regular season for 869 yards to go along with five touchdown receptions, the Rams hope to see similar success from Kupp when it matters the most in the postseason.

But before jumping that far ahead, Los Angeles is focused on Sunday’s regular-season finale against the San Francisco 49ers in a game that will eventually determine whether the team settles for the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the NFC. From a seeding standpoint. Despite Sean McVay announcing early on in the week that numerous key starters would rest, Kupp was one of the players who seemed like would earn at least a little playing time against the 49ers. However, it was announced on Friday that Kupp would in fact sit since he’s dealing with some knee soreness, which is obviously the best decision the Rams could have made.

Next: 3 predictions for Rams against 49ers in Week 17

As much as Los Angeles would probably prefer to earn the No. 3 seed over No. 4, McVay has made it clear that it doesn’t really matter which spot the Rams get since he’s going to take the same approach no matter who the opponent is. So when it comes to the decision to rest Kupp against the 49ers, give McVay credit for taking the safe approach so the rookie’s knee will hopefully benefit from the extra rest before Wild Card Weekend.