Cooper Kupp injury: Rams vs. Seahawks Week 1 spread, total shift with Pro Bowler in question
The Los Angeles Rams in 2022 had the worst season ever for a defending Super Bowl champion and part of that was due to star receiver Cooper Kupp, the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, being limited to nine games due to injury. Kupp had been battling a hamstring injury early in 2023 training camp but had returned to practice … only to suffer a “setback,” according to Coach Sean McVay, putting Kupp’s Week 1 status in Seattle in question.
The #RamsHouse had been 4.5-point underdogs against the Seahawks but generally have ticked up to +5.5 with this news. On the moneyline, they moved from +185 to +205, and the total dropped from 47 to 46.5. The Rams were 0-2 vs. the #Seahawks last season, losing 27-23 at home and 19-16 in OT in the Pacific Northwest. Kupp didn’t play in either.
LA is calling Kupp day-to-day, but the team also said that when he was first injured, and he missed several week of practice. "I think we just take it a day at a time right now," McVay said. "We want to be able to get him back right. We're obviously a much better team when he's available."
No wide receiver has ever won NFL MVP and because Kupp didn’t in 2021, it’s hard to imagine one ever well. He captured the receiving Triple Crown that year in leading the league in catches (145 – second all-time), yards (1,947 – second all-time) and receiving TDs (16). Aaron Rodgers won MVP and Kupp finished third. He did win Super Bowl MVP honors, though.
Last year in his nine games, Kupp had 75 catches for 812 yards and six TDs, which are spectacular numbers considering how poor that Rams offense was overall and with Matthew Stafford’s struggles and then injury. Those Kupp statistics over 17 games would equal 142 catches, 1,534 yards and 11 TDs. Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson was the 2022 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and finished with 128 catches for 1,809 yards and eight TDs.
All of Kupp’s individual 2023 season totals have come off the board at sportsbooks. He is +3000 to win Offensive Player of the Year again and the same price to win Comeback Player of the Year. Kupp is still among the favorites to lead the NFL in receiving yards (+800), receiving TDs (+550) and receptions (+500).