Cooper Kupp going on IR all but ends LA Rams season

Rams working the horse that works

While that may be no more than his workload from a season ago, it was far too large of the share of offensive snaps for a struggling LA Rams offense. Kupp not only had 98 passes thrown his way, but he passed once and ran another nine times. All totaled, Kupp was 108 of the offensive plays, out of 515 possible offensive plays. That is 21 percent of the total offensive workload, and most of that was in double coverage.

That is just workload. In terms of offensive production, he is more than a third of the Rams’ offensive yardage. Now, the Rams have to find a way to create positive offensive yards without him.

Surgery to the Rams’ best offensive weapon with eight games remaining in the season?  Even if the recovery time occurs at lightning speed, Kupp is out for at least 4-5 weeks. Does it make any sense to bring him back at the end of a season that appears to already be a lost cause?

Close the shutters and weather this storm

I would recommend shutting him down for the season and perhaps giving serious consideration to shutting down QB Matthew Stafford too. If the Rams are going to regroup, it’s best to see what the Rams have with their younger players. Now is as good of a time as any to find out.

Balancing an offense is not just a ploy to keep defenses guessing. It’s one of the best strategies to avoid injuries to vital players. Studies have proven that muscle fatigue is a significant contributor to soft tissue injury, which is why workload management and snap counts have become part of an NFL team head coach’s job description.

Perhaps the fact that the Rams competed a month longer than other NFL teams was somehow missed. Not only have the Rams looked flat this season, but the entire roster appears to be more susceptible to injuries than ever. So I continue to struggle with a strategy of sitting starters in the preseason to avoid potential injuries, but working some of those same players into the ground in the regular season.

One of the mysteries of life, I guess.