Rams look to overcome injuries

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is as positive as a person you would come across. McVay often talks about having a growth mindset.  That’s all being challenged as the 0-2 Rams seek their first victory of the season against their NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium. 

McVay and his ballclub will have to claim victory without being at full strength as a team. That’s because three weeks into the regular season, the injury list has piled up big time for the Rams. 

The team’s two starting wide receivers will both miss significant time due to maladies they suffered on the football field. Offensive linemen Joe Noteboom and Steve Avila were both placed on injured reserve after Week 1. 

And now the team is down defensive backs Darious Williams, Derion Kendrick (injured reserve), and John Johnson III. Offensive lineman Jonah Jackson will also be out of the picture for a while.

“We’ve had some unfortunate breaks and it’s happened really early and it’s definitely nothing that I’ve been exposed to,” McVay said. “For you guys that have kind of been covering us back to ’22, that was unprecedented but that was throughout the course of the year. This is unique, but this offers an opportunity for us to be what we say we want to be.” 

Cooper Kupp has an ankle sprain that he suffered in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. 

“He’s strong,” McVay said of Kupp during a Zoom conference call. “He is a man of faith. He and [his wife] Anna, they trust in the Lord’s plans for him but it’s tough because of all of the things that you asked about are all true.” 

“The amount of time [and] the sacrifices to try to put yourself in a position to positively affect the team. He’s done that in a lot of ways and he’ll be able to continue to do that even if it’s not on the field. He was disappointed, but his spirits are as strong as they could be relative to the circumstances,” McVay added.  

Second-year wideout Puka Nacua was placed on the injury reserve list just a week earlier with a PCL sprain injury to his right knee. Coming off a rookie season in which he caught 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns in 17 regular season games, Nacua had been expected to have another dominant season. 

Nacua’s injury will no doubt alter his productivity this season. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 1, Nacua caught four passes for 35 yards.     

“You can see he’s an impact player,” McVay said. “He gets four targets. He has four catches for almost 50 yards. He has a jet sweep. He does stuff in the run game. He’s a factor. He just is one of those guys that just makes a difference. It’s unfortunate for him and I’m bummed out for the person more importantly. Of course, you wish that you had him out there.”

Despite the rash of injuries that has engulfed his team so early into the 2024 season, McVay still has to go out and get his team prepared to play football at the highest level week in and week out. Goal No. 1 for McVay and the Rams is to go out and do their best against the 49ers. It won’t be easy.

“I think you just have to acknowledge the reality of the situation,” McVay said. “You feel for your teammates, but it’s about how do we put together a good week of preparation? How do we start to establish a rhythm and a rapport with the guys that are playing? You hope that we’re able to stay healthy to be able to continue to build on that to put quality football out there.”