Is Cooper Kupp playing today? Latest update for LA Rams star WR

When LA Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp suffered an ankle sprain, NFL fans tuned in to learn what the team might choose to do with him. The decision by the team not to place the veteran wide receiver on injured reserve was instantly interpreted by NFL Fantasy Football virtual GMs to mean that Kupp's injury was not serious and that Kupp would be back sooner than later.

Even one of our Ramblin Fan contributors bit on an optimistic outlook for the star wide receiver.

But it was simple logistics. The LA Rams had already saturated their available IR restorations with an early outbreak of injuries after just two weeks. So an injury to Kupp, while not season-ending, would essentially bump an injured team out of the possibility of returning into the season-ending injury category simply due to the fact that the team would be out of their allotted eight IR to active roster moves.

So the team circumvented the entire IR process, simply keeping Kupp on the active roster, with the understanding that he would be unavailable to play on Game Day. And that pattern holds true for Week 5, and Cooper Kupp is out for the game against the Green Bay Packers.

By sitting out the past two games in addition to Week 5, the Rams hope that after their Week 6 BYE week that Cooper Kupp will be able to suit up in time for Week 7 to host the Las Vegas Raiders.

And yes, that is the same Las Vegas Raiders who are taking offers for their own star wide receiver, Davante Adams.

Unless the Raiders get a player of equivalent value in return, the Rams are likely to face a weakened Raiders roster when the square off in Week 7.

So who might the Rams target in Week 5 instead? I love the recent production of WR Tutu Atwell. For a guy who is under the radar, rookie WR Jordan Whittington is a solid choice. Best of all, you have to believe that QB Matthew Stafford will eventually ramp up his targets to TE Colby Parkinson.

But no Cooper Kupp in Week 5. As always, thanks for reading.

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