NFL head coach reportedly admits that the Steelers have been calling regarding the acquisition of All-Pro wide receiver
Priority number one for the Pittsburgh Steelers is finding a QB for 2025. But acquiring a difference-making WR is on their shortlist of needs come the fall. There is one name who is headed out of the Los Angeles Rams locker room and according to his former head coach, the Steelers have a lot of interest in […]
Priority number one for the Pittsburgh Steelers is finding a QB for 2025.
But acquiring a difference-making WR is on their shortlist of needs come the fall.
There is one name who is headed out of the Los Angeles Rams locker room and according to his former head coach, the Steelers have a lot of interest in him…
Steelers calling about Cooper Kupp
“The Cooper Kupp thing was interesting because during the season I heard about Cooper maybe being on the open market,” Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer told Fansided. “I called Sean (McVay) and he goes, ‘No, teams have called. Like, the Steelers called, somebody else called, but they weren’t offering a lot.’”
The last sentence is the key context here. Kupp might be a former All-Pro and on the shortlist of WRs to reach the pinnacle of single-season status by winning the illustrious Triple Crown, but there is a lot of red tape surrounding him, if you will.
For one, Kupp will turn 32 over the summer, which generally isn't bad given the way WRs have started to age in the modern NFL. But ever since that jaw-dropping 2021 season, the star WR played in only 62% of the Rams games over the last three seasons, with nagging lower body injuries.
But the biggest hurdle is the financials. The whole reason the Rams are looking to trade Kupp is because he has a roster bonus that will trigger in less than a month, and if they cut him outright before June, it will leave them with $22.2m in dead cap charges.
Asking a team to take on a $29.7m and $27.3m cap hit over the next two seasons for an age 32 and 33 WR coming off lower body injuries, all the while seeking compensation in return is quite the wish.
So yeah, the Steelers probably aren't offering much, and with that offer, they are likely asking the Rams to absorb a chunk of Kupp's salary.
If we know anything about Omar Khan however, he's willing to stick a deal out until the end, and the last thing he will do is negotiate a bad trade, even if sometimes you wish he and Mike Tomlin would make a move.
