As they did the previous season, the Los Angeles Rams are approaching Week 18 cautiously. To keep them healthy and fresh for the start of the playoffs, they will rest a number of important players rather than playing every starting and treating the game like any other.
Cooper Kupp, who has sustained injuries throughout his career, is one of them. Even though Kupp isn’t currently injured, Sean McVay is using this time to rest him and ensure he’s ready for the wild-card game the following week.
Despite missing four games this season, Kupp has caught 67 passes for 710 yards and six touchdowns in his 12 games played.
Kupp is among the guys the Rams will rest against the Seahawks this weekend, according to McVay. Despite being officially labeled as unlikely to participate, he will probably not play versus Seattle and will remain inactive.
This week, Puka Nacua is also taking a break in addition to Kupp. This implies that Jordan Whittington, Tyler Johnson, and Tutu Atwell will most likely be the top receivers. Whether or how much Demarcus Robinson plays is still up in the air.
American football head coach Sean McVay was born in Dayton, Ohio, on January 24, 1986. He has been with the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL since 2017. McVay is the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl (2022), one of many age-related milestones he has achieved.
McVay is the oldest child of Tim McVay, a defensive back in college, and Cindy McVay. John McVay, Sean McVay’s paternal grandpa, was a coach for the New York Giants before joining the 49ers as an executive. The 49ers won five Super Bowls when he was with the organization from 1979 to 1995.
Although Sean McVay was born in Ohio, his father’s work at Cox Television caused the family to relocate multiple times. McVay played soccer and tennis as a child, but his football skills were what made him most famous. He played defensive back and quarterback at Atlanta’s Marist High School. In 2003, as a senior, he was voted Georgia’s Player of the Year and guided the team to a state championship. Although McVay was not renowned for having a powerful arm, his agility and toughness made up for it. The 5.80-meter (1.78-foot) McVay enrolled at Miami University in Ohio in 2004. On the school’s football team, he was a wide receiver, but his playing time was cut short by a string of injuries. In 2008, he received his degree.
After being hired as an assistant wide receivers coach by Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden in 2008 at the age of 22, McVay started to advance in the NFL coaching ranks. The fact that McVay’s grandfather had previously employed Gruden’s father, Jim Gruden, as an assistant college football coach was helpful. For a short time in 2009, McVay left the NFL to coach the wide receivers for the United Football League’s Florida Tuskers.
McVay, who was hired as the assistant tight ends coach by the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) in 2010, gained notoriety for his extraordinary work ethic. In 2014, he advanced to the position of offensive coordinator for Washington under new head coach Jay Gruden, who was Jon Gruden’s brother. McVay assisted in turning Kirk Cousins into a franchise quarterback in that capacity. For the first time in team history, Washington averaged over 400 yards per game in 2016. With almost 300 throw yards per game, the club also set a franchise record.
McVay was appointed as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams in January 2017, just before his 31st birthday, following three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Redskins. In the history of the modern NFL, he became the youngest head coach. McVay took over a struggling team with the league’s lowest-ranked offense and a 4–12 record from 2016.
McVay’s influence was felt right away. The Rams achieved their first postseason spot since 2004 with an 11–5 record in his first season as coach. Young quarterback Jared Goff set a league record with 12.9 yards per catch under McVay’s tutelage. However, a 26–13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the playoffs marked the season’s dismal conclusion. The Rams were even better in 2018; they tied the New Orleans Saints for the league’s best record with a 13–3 record. Los Angeles lost Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots, 13–3, despite defeating the Saints in the National Football Conference championship game. Although the Rams’ season ended in disappointment, McVay, who was the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history at age 33, achieved a noteworthy feat by winning the Super Bowl in just his second season.
After missing the playoffs the following season, the Rams bounced back in 2020 with a 10–6 record. But in the playoffs’ divisional round, the team fell short against the Green Bay Packers. Following the season, the Rams completed a huge quarterback trade with the Detroit Lions, sending Matthew Stafford to them along with Goff and a number of draft picks. With a 12–5 record in 2021 and a trip to Super Bowl LVI (2022), the Rams’ “win-now” strategy paid off. In order to overcome the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20, Stafford led the Rams on a 72-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes of the game. At the age of 36, McVay became the youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl, and it was only the Rams’ second Super Bowl in franchise history.
With a dismal 5–12 record in 2022, Los Angeles had the lowest record ever for a reigning Super Bowl winner. McVay considered taking a vacation from coaching after the season, but ultimately chose to stay. The squad went back to the playoffs the next year after improving to 10–7, but they were defeated by the Lions in the wild-card round.
In 2022, McVay wed Veronika Khomyn, a Ukrainian-born realtor and model. Later, the couple had a son.
