Cooper Kupp BREAKING: WR OUT vs. Seahawks; 3 Rams to Step Up
Sunday will indeed mark the start of a new season for the Los Angeles Rams as they will work inside Lumen Field to take on NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks, in the first of two matchups this season. ... Yet the Rams will be dealing a similar circumstance that they did for multiple games last season.
They will be without star receiver Cooper Kupp, who reaggravated the hamstring injury that he suffered early into training camp. As the Rams have been preparing for the season-opener, Kupp has spent time in Minnesota seeing a specialist to find out what exactly is causing it.
We now know he won't be available against the Seahawks.
This will make it the ninth straight regular-season game that Kupp has missed after missing the last eight last season and will force starting quarterback Matthew Stafford to look elsewhere for help from his playmakers … so which three Rams might step up?.
Van Jefferson
The former second-round pick out of the University of Florida is the obvious pick to help Stafford fill the void of Kupp in the passing game. While Kupp can never be truly replaced in this Rams' offense as currently constructed, Jefferson will likely provide the most reliable outlet for Stafford.
Jefferson enters the season looking to rebound from a down second season in the league as his numbers fell from 802 yards and six touchdowns on 50 receptions as a rookie to 24 receptions for 369 yards and three touchdowns. Now, part of that can be blamed on him missing the first six games with injury, while the inconsistency at quarterback due to injuries to Stafford can also be pointed out.
If the Rams manage to pick up a win on Sunday, it could be in large part due to a big game from Jefferson.
Cam Akers
Yes, we know... Akers isn't a receiver, he is a running back, yet he can still help Stafford and this Rams offense out. A big criticism of the Rams offense last season was their inability to run the football effectively.
Yet, it wasn't all bad last season, as the Rams did have the emergence of Akers, who was playing some of his best football to end the year as he rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last three games.
After the hiring of Mike LaFleur as the new offensive coordinator, whom coach Sean McVay admittedly said he hopes to learn from in terms of scheming up run plays, Akers could be in for a big game against a Seahawks defense that was one of the worst against the run last season.
Tyler Higbee
A tight end can always make for a good safety-net option for a quarterback, although with Kupp potentially sidelined on Sunday, some could argue that Higbee would be the most trusted weapon left for Stafford.
Higbee is coming off the second-best season of his career with 620 yards and three touchdowns on 72 receptions, which is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that the Rams played four quarterbacks last season.
