Rams WR Cooper Kupp ruled out for opener vs. Seahawks due to hamstring

Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Cooper Kupp will not play in the team's regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday due to his hamstring, according to head coach Sean McVay.

"Not much more information," McVay told reporters Wednesday, "Just dealing with some soft tissue stuff."

He added that the team would not rule out placing the 30-year-old on injured reserve.

Kupp has been considered day-to-day since Aug. 30, when he had a setback with a hamstring injury he sustained early in training camp on Aug. 1. He reportedly visited a specialist in Minnesota to get it checked out Tuesday.

McVay did not get into specifics about the specialist Kupp saw, but noted the team is "opening every avenue" to understand whether the injury was more of a soft-tissue injury or even a possible nerve issue, according to The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue. On Monday, McVay said aspects of Kupp's situation do not align with symptoms of the typical hamstring strain, Rodrigue reported.

"There's just a lot of gray behind this," McVay said Wednesday.

The Super Bowl LVI MVP was recently voted a team captain by his teammates. If he ends up on injured reserve, he will spend at least four games supporting his club from the sidelines.

He landed on injured reserve last season in November when he sustained a high ankle sprain during the Ram's Week 10 loss to the Cardinals. Kupp had to have surgery to treat the injury, which occurred when he landed awkwardly on an overthrown pass from backup quarterback John Wolford.

Before the ankle injury, Kupp was leading the Rams with 75 receptions for 812 yards and six touchdowns in the 2022 season.

While the Rams will be down a wideout Sunday, their opponent announced one of their receivers would play in the opener despite an injury. Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who the Seahawks drafted with pick No. 20 in the 2023 NFL Draft, will take the field. He is three weeks removed from a wrist injury that required surgery.