Cooper Kupp goes down with knee injury against Seahawks

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been a breakout star for both his team and fantasy owners this season, but he may have suffered a serious knee injury in the team’s Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite coming off of a tough loss to Michael Thomas and the scorching New Orleans Saints in Week 9, the Los Angeles Rams were ready to go toe-to-toe with the rival Seattle Seahawks in a game that still holds playoff implications. The Rams, tied with the Saints for the best record in the NFC, traded blows with the Seahawks throughout the game, but they may have lost a key player to an injury in the process.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rams No. 2 wide receiver Cooper Kupp suffered a left knee injury in the fourth quarter, and it’s worth noting that he’s dealt with knee issues this year since Week 6 against the Denver Broncos. Kupp only returned to the lineup last week against New Orleans, immediately catching five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in another effective performance for the Rams high-flying offense.

Footage of the injury can be viewed here, courtesy of Dov Kleiman. It came while Kupp was running a route, and he was immediately listed as doubtful to return, which could be an ominous sign. That said, it’s too early to tell, and fans likely won’t get a better idea of the severity of this knee injury until Monday morning.

Prior to going down against the Seahawks in Week 10, Kupp caught five more passes to bring his season total up to 40, putting him on pace to catch 70 passes for the first time in his career, provided this knee injury isn’t serious.

It’s a scary situation for the Rams, as Kupp is one of the best young receivers in the league and an important part of the Rams offense. Sean McVay’s squad are among a handful of teams with legitimate Super Bowl hopes, and they were widely seen as the league’s best team before suffering that loss to the Saints in Week 9.

Hopefully Kupp is OK and hasn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury, which is certainly the fear here. If he misses time, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods would trend upward as stars in the Rams offense. Josh Reynolds has stepped into a bigger role before when Kupp and Cooks were dealing with injuries, so he’d be the primary benefactor if Kupp is forced to miss more time.

Coming into Week 9, Kupp was averaging 75.3 receiving yards per game with 15.1 yards per reception, and the former Washington State standout was essentially averaging one touchdown per contest. This has been a banner year for the sophomore wideout, and Rams fans will be praying that he’ll be able to keep contributing this season.