Austin Trammell

Rams To Activate Cooper Kupp From IR

OCTOBER 7: Kupp is officially back on the active roster. The team announced that they’ve activated the wide receiver from injured reserve today. In addition to getting their star wideout back on the field, the Rams also announced the activation of rookie linebacker Ochaun Mathis from IR. The sixth-round pick out of Nebraska could end up making his NFL debut this week.

Additionally, Los Angeles announced that practice squad wide receiver Austin Trammell will be signed to the active roster. Trammell has been a standard gameday elevation for the past the three games. A practice squad player can only be elevated three times and still be able to revert to the practice squad under one contract. In order for Trammell to see game action again, the Rams needed to officially sign him to the 53-man roster. If they want him back on the practice squad, he’ll have to last through waivers. If they are able to re-sign Trammell to a new practice squad contract, he will be eligible for three more standard gameday promotions before the process will need to be repeated.

OCTOBER 6: Cooper Kupp‘s ramp-up period will be capped at one week of practices. Sean McVay confirmed the All-Pro wide receiver will make his season debut in Week 5 against the Eagles.

Down with a hamstring injury, Kupp will return when first eligible and become the Rams’ first IR activation this season. Kupp battled a hamstring issue for nearly the Rams’ entire training camp, and a setback led to the team moving him to IR. Los Angeles’ receiving situation has changed since Kupp last played, but the team will obviously feature a more potent pass-catching corps with its top target available.

During Kupp’s absence, the Rams have seen fifth-round rookie Puka Nacua deliver one of the most surprising first months by a rookie wide receiver in NFL history. Prior to D.J. Moore‘s Thursday-night dominance, Nacua sat second in receiving yards (501). Only Justin Jefferson (543) had Nacua beat through four games. The Rams appear to have hit big on a Day 3 receiver out of BYU, and they have seen Tutu Atwell take steps forward after struggling to make an impact through two seasons. Atwell will enter the L.A.-Philadelphia matchup with 22 receptions for 270 yards.

It will be interesting to see how Kupp mixes in with the promising younger talents, but the Rams have seen their high-priced wideout run into injury trouble during much of the past two years. An ankle issue led to Kupp’s 2022 season ending midway through. During what became a woeful Super Bowl title defense, the Rams lost Kupp, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald for the season. Kupp was the first of those cornerstone players to be moved to IR, last playing in Week 10 of the ’22 season. Kupp underwent ankle surgery and entered this offseason healthy but encountered the hamstring issue days into training camp.

Kupp, 30, saw a specialist about his hamstring injury just before the season, and while concerns existed about a nerve problem, the seventh-year receiver instead avoided a serious malady and moved toward a return. The Rams gave Kupp a monster extension in 2022, ripping up his previous deal — despite the accomplished slot weapon only signing it in September 2020 — after his historic 2021 season.

Stafford and Kupp formed an instant connection in 2021, and the Division I-FCS product notched a receiving triple-crown season. Kupp nearly brought down Calvin Johnson‘s single-season yardage mark, finishing with 1,947 yards in a 16-touchdown season. Kupp also nearly broke Larry Fitzgerald‘s record for receiving yards in a single playoffs, closing L.A.’s four-game slate with 478 and six TDs. The Super Bowl LVI MVP could not complete his follow-up effort last season but averaged 90.2 yards per game — his second-best average as a pro — and will return to a team that now features a better supporting cast.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/30/23

Saturday’s gameday elevations and other minor moves ahead of tomorrow’s slate of Week 4 games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Walker’s elevation comes amidst a degree of uncertainty regarding Deshaun Watson‘s Sunday availability. The latter is dealing with a shoulder injury, but he has expressed confidence he will be able to suit up. In the event he is unable to play, though, Walker will provide insurance under center. NFL Network’s James Palmer reports Watson will be a game-time decision.

Chosen, formerly Robbie Anderson, made his Dolphins debut in Week 3, scoring a 68-yard touchdown on his only catch. His performance – along with other depth wideouts currently being sidelined for Miami – will give the 30-year-old a longer look with his new team.

Gore’s elevation will give him the chance to see regular season game action for the first time since 2021. The former UDFA recorded 361 scrimmage yards with the Chiefs that season, but a subsequent IR stint marked the end of his time in Kansas City. Gore has since spent time on the Saints’, and now Commanders’, taxi squads. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post notes that fellow depth back Chris Rodriguez has bee ruled out with an illness, opening the door to Gore seeing limited snaps.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/23

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Sinnett joined the Bengals’ practice squad late last week. This move preceded A.J. McCarron‘s return by one day. Joe Burrow is in uniform tonight, but the Bengals will take advantage of the emergency third QB rule by bumping Sinnett up to the active roster. Jake Browning is in place as Burrow’s backup.

After the Jets and Steelers waived Mann this year, he secured another chance in Philly. The team brought Mann onto its practice squad last week, moving their punter of the past two seasons — Arryn Siposs — off their roster. Mann is in his fourth NFL season; the former sixth-round pick served as the Jets’ punter from 2020-22.

With Quez Watkins inactive, Allen received his first opportunity to suit up for an NFL game. The two-time Olympian 110-meter hurdler has been on the Eagles’ practice squad for the past two seasons. A former wideout at Oregon, Allen devoted much of his 20s to track, becoming one of the best 110 hurdlers in U.S. history. Since landing on the Eagles’ 90-man offseason roster in 2022, Allen has worked as a two-sport athlete.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/16/23

Today’s callups and adjustments heading into Week 2:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ersCardinalsRams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR:

Signed: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

Rams Cut Down To 53 Players

The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.

The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/22

Here are the league’s minor transactions leading into the Sunday-slate of Week 13 games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ersCardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Signed:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Released from IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

  • LB Joshua Onujiogu

Placed on IR:

Reverted to IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Rams Reduce Roster To 53 Players

As the Rams look to defend their Super Bowl title, the team reduced their roster to the 53-man limit today:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Placed on reserve/NFI:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Placed on reserve/suspended:

Jacob Harris getting cut came as a bit of a surprise after the 2021 fourth-round pick got into nine games as a rookie. However, he rarely got a look on offense in 2021, and despite the Rams only rostering two tight ends at the end of the day (Tyler Higbee, Brycen Hopkins), Harris was let go. Chris Garrett was also a 2021 draft pick, being selected by the Rams in the seventh round. He only got into one game as a rook.

AJ Arcuri was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, but the rookie didn’t show enough to crack the 53-man roster. There’s a good chance the Michigan State product lands back on the Rams practice squad.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/22

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Commanders