Cooper Kupp's injury update a massive win for Los Angeles Rams offense

The return of Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp may jump-start their offense. Although he has missed a significant portion of training camp with a nagging hamstring injury, the All-Pro receiver indicated he's on track to suit up for the regular-season opener in Seattle after he returned to practice this week.

"Yeah, I feel like I am," the wideout said of his ability to play in Week 1 in a Thursday news conference. 

Per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, Kupp practiced for four consecutive days, including two joint sessions with the Denver Broncos. Rams head coach Sean McVay is still exercising caution, but he signaled the 30-year-old is making excellent progress.

"We wanted to be limited with him today. But he's gotten a lot of work over the last four days," McVay said."But he looked really good. He looked like Cooper, and that's an excellent player for us."

When Kupp is healthy, he's the best player on the Rams offense. He was vital during their Super Bowl run in 2021, catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards in 17 games on his way to winning Offensive Player of the Year. In 2022, the former Pro Bowler suffered an ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10 and sat out for the remainder of the season.

During his absence, Los Angeles went 2-6 en route to a 5-12 record overall, the worst for a defending Super Bowl champion in league history.

Expectations are low for the organization this season. Per BetMGM, the Rams' over-under win total is 6.5, third in the NFC West. Furthermore, they have the ninth-most difficult schedule in the league this fall, via NFL research.

Nonetheless, if Kupp avoids the injury bug for the rest of the season and recaptures his elite form, it will help the team defy the odds.