Rams make painful business decision to ruin Cooper Kupp's dream, and put themselves under significant offseason pressure
Cooper Kupp had hoped he would spend his entire NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams. But that ambition will not come to pass. Kupp announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday that he had been informed of the Rams' intention to trade him. Kupp’s post read: "I was informed that the […]
Cooper Kupp had hoped he would spend his entire NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams.
But that ambition will not come to pass. Kupp announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday that he had been informed of the Rams' intention to trade him.
Kupp’s post read:
"I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships.
"I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA. Still, if there’s one thing that I have learned over the years: there are so many things that are out of your control, but it is how you respond to these things that you will look back on and remember.
"I have taken so much pride in playing alongside my teammates for the LA community, so thank you for embracing my family and making this such a special place for us.
"2024 began with one of the best training camps of my career. Preparations start now for 2025. Highly motivated, as healthy as ever, and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come.
"Love you guys..But coming for it all.”
While the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year is understandably disappointed with the decision, it is one that makes financial sense for the Rams.
Kupp is due $20 million in salary in 2025, with $7.5 million roster bonus ($5 million of which is fully guaranteed) payable in March. Unless the contract is renegotiated, a team trading for Kupp would assume that, along with a £12.5 million base salary and the $19.85 million he is due in 2026.
A home-run draft pick in the second round in 2017, Kupp won the receiving triple crown in 2021 as he led the NFL in catches (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16). He went on to play a crucial role in the postseason as the Rams won Super Bowl 56 with victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
But he has not played a full season since that dream campaign owing to persistent injury troubles, with those issues and the emergence of Puka Nacua as a true No. 1 wideout making his contract far less palatable for the Rams.
Still, removing one of Matthew Stafford's favorite targets from the equation isn't exactly helpful to the Rams' ambitions of building on their run to the Divisional Round this season, and Los Angeles will now be under significant pressure to find an effective replacement for Kupp who can help the franchise push towards another Super Bowl challenge in 2025.
Rams lose rising star assistant to team they will face in 2025 season, leaving Sean McVay with increasingly big offseason task
He has a couple of voids to fill.
