Rams' Matthew Stafford has hip contusion; Cooper Kupp nears return

Matthew Stafford sustained a hip contusion during Sunday's game, but Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay expects his quarterback to be available to play this week.

Stafford overcame a hard landing on his hip early in the fourth quarter to direct a 29-23 overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts.

"He is a stud and, obviously, we saw him gut through that yesterday," McVay said Monday. "Definitely took a good shot there, but we feel like he should be good to go."

McVay said Stafford had further testing after sustaining a "good deep bruise." Those evaluations did not indicate anything that might keep Stafford out of practice or threaten his status against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

"He's nice and sore today, but I feel like he'll continue to make progress throughout the week," McVay said.

The Rams (2-2) have a good sense of what Stafford is capable of when playing through injury. He dealt with tendinitis in his right elbow during their Super Bowl-winning 2021 season.

McVay said there is an art to playing at less than perfect health, something Stafford has mastered after 15 years in the NFL.

"Once you get about four weeks into the season, a lot of these guys that are playing every single snap, you never quite feel perfect," McVay said. "And they kind of learn how to be able to play through it, and it's certainly something that you don't take for granted. But I've seen him operate at a pretty high level when he's got something that he's working through."

After an injury-plagued 2022 campaign that saw him deal with concussions and a spinal cord contusion that ultimately ended his year prematurely, Stafford is currently directing the second-best passing offense in football despite not having his best wide receiver available. He has consistently made enough plays to keep a retooled team with a young defense in position to hang around.

Stafford has thrown for 1,229 yards through four games, although his touchdown-to-interception ratio is not nearly as impressive, with three scoring passes and five picks.

That production should only improve with the impending return of wide receiver Cooper Kupp from a hamstring injury sustained in training camp. Kupp is set to return to practice this week and can be activated off injured reserve.

McVay is excited to see what putting Kupp on the field alongside standout rookie Puka Nacua can do for both of them and the passing attack as a whole.

"There's certain skill sets that each guy possesses," McVay said. "Some of which are similar and some which can be reflected in some different ways, but I think you'll see that come to life and we've got to figure that out ourselves too."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.