Rams News: Matthew Stafford Has ‘Ton Of Trust’ In Wide Receivers To Step Up For Cooper Kupp & Puka Nacua

The Los Angeles Rams dropped to 0-2 on the season with a blowout 41-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, which saw three more key players go down to injury as well.

Cooper Kupp (ankle), Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and John Johnson III (shoulder) all left the game early and never returned. Head coach Sean McVay said afterward that the three players will miss an extended period of time and could go on injured reserve.

A long absence for Kupp would especially be devastating given how important he is to the team and the fact that Puka Nacua was placed on IR last week with a PCL sprain in his right knee.

With Kupp and Nacua sidelined, the Rams will be relying on a receiving corps that now includes Demarcus Robinson, Tyler Johnson, Tutu Atwell and rookie Jordan Whittington.

“Those guys did a nice job today when they got their opportunities in the game to step in and make some plays,” Matthew Stafford said of the Rams wide receivers.

“I thought Demarcus Robinson made some nice plays, I thought Tutu made some good plays, J-Whitt made some plays, TJ, so continue to grow with those guys, try to help them out as much as I possibly can, give them good passes to catch and let those guys do their thing.

“I’ve got a ton of trust in them. They’ve done a great job all through OTAs, training camp, all that kind of stuff. And have some pass-game history with some of those guys.”

Although the Rams’ current group of wide receivers lack the star power of Kupp and Nacua, they at least have some experience with Stafford.

Robinson had two catches for 50 yards against the Cardinals, including a 42-yard reception in the second quarter. Atwell hauled in three catches for 48 yards, Whittington had two catches for 22 yards and Johnson caught two passes for 20 yards.

Robinson appears to be first on the depth chart with Kupp and Nacua out. The rest of the Rams’ wide receivers will likely continue rotating for snaps alongside of him.

Rams’ Puka Nacua expected to miss 5-7 weeks

Players on IR are forced to miss a minimum of four games, but reports indicated that Nacua is expected to be out for five-to-seven weeks.

That means he will likely miss the Rams’ upcoming matchups against the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings.

The good news is that the Rams have their bye in Week 6, which means Nacua will potentially miss only six games rather than seven.