Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Cameron DaSilva

Sean McVay explains why Jordan Whittington hardly played vs. Raiders

With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua sidelined, Jordan Whittington became a focal point of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. In Weeks 4 and 5, he played more than 90% of the offensive snaps and totaled 13 receptions for 161 yards, seeing 18 passes thrown his way by Matthew Stafford.

But in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Whittington was only on the field for nine offensive snaps and wasn’t targeted a single time. In fact, all nine of his snaps came as a blocker in the run game, so he didn’t run a single route.

Whittington was limited all week in practice due to a shoulder injury suffered at the end of Week 5, but Sean McVay never indicated it would affect his availability for Sunday’s game. McVay said all along that Whittington was expected to play, and technically, he did.

On Monday, McVay explained Whittington’s lack of playing time, saying it was because the receiver wasn’t able to practice much throughout the week. He hopes that Whittington can have “a little bit more of a workload” against the Vikings on Thursday night.

Cooper Kupp is expected to return and play in his first game since injuring his ankle in Week 2, so there will be fewer snaps at wide receiver available. That alone could limit Whittington’s role, and McVay’s comments don’t exactly indicate the rookie will have a full workload Thursday night.

For now, Whittington can probably be viewed as a backup until he’s 100% healthy.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.