Why the Rams are actively trying to sell Cooper Kupp, and why it makes total sense
If there's one thing that the management structure of the Los Angeles Rams wants to be is aggressive. They were aggressive to build a championship-caliber roster in 2021, but general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay can also be aggressive to make what needs to be made. And this is the approach with […]
If there's one thing that the management structure of the Los Angeles Rams wants to be is aggressive. They were aggressive to build a championship-caliber roster in 2021, but general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay can also be aggressive to make what needs to be made. And this is the approach with veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
Kupp is obviously a great player and a perfect fit for what the Rams want to be offensively. Even though injuries have prevented him from repeating such a successful season like he did three years ago, he can still be a productive weapon.
But the Rams are aggressive. So they understand that the best path forward is… moving forward. And for a team that is 2-4, in the last place of the NFC West, and with so many injuries affecting the roster, the best move with a 31-year-old receiver might be the trade market.
That's why, according to Dianna Russini, Jourdan Rodrigue, and Mike Silver, from The Athletic, the Rams are not only listening to offers. They are actively shopping him. There were some rumors about Matthew Stafford as well.
Contract implications
The Rams are paying Cooper Kupp $20 million this season, but $5 million of that was an already paid roster bonus. The base salary is $15 million, so Kupp is yet to make $8.82 million this season — which would be the movable part of his deal. It'd be $7.94 million if Kupp is traded next week, right before the deadline.
But the Rams are willing to convert some of that base salary into a signing bonus, so it would be easier for the acquiring team to fit the wide receiver into the salary cap.
By trading Kupp this week, the Rams would have at least $20.96 million in dead money, plus however much they keep in an eventual trade. Los Angeles would also have $17.26 million in dead money next year.
Reasoning
In the 2023 offseason, the Rams were also aggressive to rebuild, but the purpose was different. They traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey for a third-round pick and released linebacker Bobby Wagner, for example. The main motivation behind that was to create cap space, to a point where Ramsey was moved for a price below what his normal market value would indicate.
Now, the Rams are in a comfortable financial position. So the aggressiveness here has a different intention. Snead and McVay want the draft capital, because it's unrealistic at this point to think that this version of the roster will compete for a Super Bowl.
The fastest way to rebuild the team and put it in a favorable position to compete is to stockpile draft picks and add young and cheap talent to the organization.
For the Rams, draft capital is more important than cap space at this moment. That's what they are signaling with this attempted move, and the approach makes sense considering where the team is right now.
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