10:00pm: McVay confirmed on Friday (via Rodrigue) he and the Rams expect Kupp to remain in place past the deadline. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero added during a Rich Eisen Show appearance that while talks have taken place regarding a trade, no such conversations have reached the level where a deal has appeared imminent (video link). Especially with Los Angeles back in the thick of the NFC West race, it would take a notable turn of events for Kupp to find himself on the move.
9:17am: Since reports of a potential Cooper Kupp trade began surfacing, the Rams have won two games and are now one game out of the NFC West lead. As such, they are less likely to be sellers.
The team saw Kupp and Puka Nacua‘s return to action make a considerable difference against the Vikings on Thursday night. The duo combined for 12 receptions, 157 yards and a touchdown in Week 8. Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes, providing a ray of hope during an injury-plagued Los Angeles season.
Days after a report suggested the Rams were calling teams on Kupp, Sean McVay did not sound too eager to break up this WR duo. The eighth-year Rams HC said postgame he expects Kupp to stay with the team, though McVay did confirm (via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue) teams have called. Kupp, 31, remains signed through the 2026 season — on the three-year, $80.1MM deal he signed months after his Super Bowl LVI MVP effort — and has an injury history that would stand to give teams pause about taking on that contract.
Kupp is also due a $5MM guarantee in 2025. While the Rams have been willing to take on some of the former All-Pro’s remaining 2024 salary — roughly $8MM — an acquiring team would be responsible for that $5MM payment next year. Kupp is tied to base salaries of $12.5MM and $14.85MM — the latter amount nonguaranteed — in 2025 and ’26. The two future salaries would be less of a deterrent than Kupp’s 2024 money and the fact he has missed 17 games since Super Bowl LVI.
The Rams have also informed teams they would want a trade haul that surpasses where the Jets went for Davante Adams. New York agreed to take on all of Adams’ remaining 2024 salary and sent Las Vegas a conditional third-round pick. The Chiefs discussed Kupp with the Rams before agreeing to acquire DeAndre Hopkins from the Titans. Given the Rams’ form with Kupp and Nacua back in the fold, trading the older member of the tandem for a modest return would be a tough sell. Though, keeping Kupp will also bring risk due to his struggles staying healthy.
Thursday’s win also came with the Rams missing two offensive line starters. They will almost certainly not pull the trigger on a seller’s trade until after their Week 9 Seahawks matchup, as the prospect looms of Steve Avila and free agency addition Jonah Jackson returning. Both are eligible to be activated from IR.
With his good that offense looked last night, not a surprise they are going to walk that back.
Ah, wonder what might have happened if the Rams didn’t luck out and have the referees go brain dead on that face mask that wasn’t called….maybe the call makes a difference maybe it doesn’t…..
Famous last words.
McVay saying one thing and another being true is hardly uncommon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Snead also disagree on this issue. Snead also does seem to change his mind on decisions, so there’s the chance that last night’s game did influence how things went. I don’t doubt though that, for McVay’s part, he really would appreciate having a second reliable receiver to help run the offense. In favor of Snead’s assumed viewpoint here, however, last night’s big game should increase Kupp’s trade value. That kind of says to me that this might be for show. If McVay is just putting on a show, as the Rams have done in the past, then I would wager that we’ll see more of Kupp being targeted to increase his value.
I mean, we can be fairly sure that L.A. was trying to trade him; aside from the reports of them calling, we also got their demanded price-and the best way to attempt to justify a demand of that nature is by showing a player’s capability. My thoughts at the end of the day is that the Rams would like to trade Kupp, but are also fine keeping him (at least on McVay’s end).
The difference in that offense with Nacua and Kupp last night has gotta make McVey reassess it all now. A trade would be crazy right now.
I’d tend to agree. Does Snead? Maybe he should, maybe he shouldn’t, but who knows.
It seems to me that getting some assets for a future rebuild could be smart. The Rams probably aren’t going to the NFC Championship. But if McVay thinks he can win with this squad, he’ll probably want to keep it together.
While that could be true, McVey just doesn’t seem like a ‘throw in the towel’ type. And that was a big win against a strong team. We’ll see..
What real purpose would it serve to even trade him now?
Collect future assets. The Rams aren’t going to do that much this year, maybe they slip into the playoffs as a wildcard, maybe they miss by a game or 2, so instead you create future value by getting a pick that you use to pick the next kupp or donald. Money is also saved that can be allocated to current/future stars that need raises. Green bay turned devante adams into Quay Walker and Christian watson. Neither is a star, but both are controllable, and if you are good at picking receivers, as the rams showed they are with Puka, then you can leverage the trade to get better/cheaper/younger.
Hmmm
You’re not going to trade a Kupp unless you get back at least 8 ounces or 236 ml in return.
Kupp, who hasn’t played a full season since 2021, hasn’t exactly lit it up the past few seasons and with an aging Stafford, you’ve probably seen his best already and decline probably has already set in…..doesn’t mean he can’t be relevant, but his dominant days may be over….Seems the Rams were trying to see if somebody would bite on their ridiculous ask for Kupp based on the WR run that happened over the last couple of weeks…because it didn’t happen, and the fact they are 1 game behind Seattle in a weaker than normal West, they’re standing pat…..basically at 3-4, they’re an injury or two from being an also ran……