Los Angeles Rams’ special teams are about to be a much tougher opponent since Pro Bowl kick returner Pharoh Cooper is finally ready to play again. Rams announced on Monday that they have activated Cooper, who suffered an ankle injury at the start of the season, from injured reserve list and that the 23-year-old will be part of their roster for the game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a corresponding move, LA Rams placed wide receiver Cooper Kupp on the injured reserve list. Kupp tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of a 36-31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 and will miss the rest of the season.
Rams selected Pharoh Cooper in the fourth round of 2016 draft and used him to both as wide receiver and returner in his rookie season. In 2017, however, Cooper almost exclusively served as kick and punts returner and ended up earning Pro Bowl selection as a return specialist. He ended the year with 1331 yards returned and added one touchdown while having league-high 27.4 yards per carry on kick returns.
According to Rams’ coach Sean McVay, the team will not put Pharoh Cooper to a heavy workload right away, and he will only kick-return duties. JoJo Natson, on the other hand, will take care of the punts returns.
