Coming off their second win of the season against the Raiders last week, the Rams are in for a major boost ahead of their clash against the Vikings. Two of their star receivers, who had been missing for the past few weeks, could be back for Thursday night football. Cooper Kupp, who has been absent for the past four weeks due to his ankle, could finally come back, as there is optimism surrounding his return on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Puka Nacua could also be back after missing six weeks of NFL due to a knee injury suffered in week 1 against the Lions. Well, it was a re-aggravated injury that placed Nacua in the injury reserves. Building up to the first game in Detroit, Nacua had already missed training camp with the Rams. However, he did return to practice on August 26th while being promoted to a full participant before the Lions clash.

But tragedy soon engulfed him again as he limped off the field with a Grade-2 PCL strain. Offering an update on his recovery, Rams OC Mike LaFleur said, “Haven’t seen him out on the field since that Detroit game Sunday night, so just to have him at least standing by us and designated to return, it’s a pretty good deal.” Well, if he doesn’t return for the next three weeks, then Nacua could see himself getting added to the season-ending injury reserves.

This would be a huge loss for the Rams’ ambition to stay in the race of playoffs as the Pro Bowler shredded the league as a rookie last season. His 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards broke multiple rookie records in 2023. And that wasn’t all, as the 15 receptions he recorded against the 49ers last season was a record for a rookie in his second career start.

Amid his and Kupp’s return to the lineup on Thursday, the latter could find himself playing for another team as the Rams look to get a trade deal out of him.

Cooper Kupp’s trade rumors fly in LA as the WR nears complete recovery

As Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported, the Rams are looking for a second-round pick in return for sending Kupp elsewhere. They are even leaning towards paying up some of the $15 million base salary Kupp earns in Los Angeles. Well, this was a bit surprising, considering the way Kupp has helped the Rams for the seven-plus years he had spent in Los Angeles.

His best season to date came in 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl LVI, defeating the Bengals in 2021. He even won the Offensive Player of the Year while leading the league in 145 catches, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 TDs. And those weren’t the only accolades, as Kupp took home the Super Bowl MVP and a Pro Bowler award that season.

However, those trade rumors coming out of the Rams’ camp don’t distract him from the commitment he has to the franchise, “For seven and a half years, I’ve been an L.A. Ram and I’ve taken that approach every single day. Whatever happens outside of that, I have to control what I can control. Right now, that means being the best L.A. Ram that I can be and I’m going to do.”

With Cooper preparing his return to the Rams lineup. Will he and Nacua be able to turn their season around? As the team faces an early exit, having lost five of their first seven games this season.