Cooper Kupp is one of the longest-tenured players on the Los Angeles Rams’ roster, but his experience against the team’s biggest rival, the San Francisco 49ers, has been limited lately.
Kupp hasn’t played in any of the last three games between the Rams and 49ers, which means his last game against San Francisco was way back in 2022. He missed their Week 2 matchup last season with a hamstring injury, was held out in Week 18 when the Rams rested their starters and missed Week 3 this season due to an ankle injury.
The Rams went 2-1 in those three games against the 49ers, getting the job done despite being without one of their top playmakers. Kupp will be out there on Thursday night at Levi’s Stadium and he’s excited to face the Rams’ rival for the first time in awhile.
” You love competing against this team,” Kupp said Tuesday. “A lot of players are up there that I’ve competed against for a long time and I have a lot of respect for the organization in terms of how they’ve operated, what they’ve done, and how hard those guys play. Obviously, that speaks to the culture they have up there. It seems like it’s always been physical games and those get you excited when you go against these teams that are going to bring it every snap. I’m excited to be able to get back out there and be on the field against them.”
It’s been two years since Kupp played the 49ers but it’s been much longer since he was last on the field for a regular-season win against them. The last time that happened was in Week 3 of the 2017 season, his first-ever game against the 49ers.
Kupp has since lost eight straight regular-season games to San Francisco, but he was instrumental in the Rams’ win over the 49ers in the 2021 NFC title game when he had 11 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns.