Turf Show Times
Cooper Kupp helped the team reach the greatest height, and now they don’t know what to do with him
It’s been a quiet few weeks since Cooper Kupp announced that he was on the trade block but the Los Angeles Rams still have a decision to make with Cooper Kupp and that’s to keep, trade or cut him. Players come and go all the time, but Kupp has a unique history as a receiver who has achieved rare feats in the regular season and the playoffs.
Which of the three options makes the most sense for the Rams?
Who’s to say that L.A. and the star wideout can’t come to an agreement?
After being drafted in 2017, Kupp had been the perfect Ram. He’d improved year in and year out, he overcame a major knee injury, and then put together one transcendent campaign at wide receiver on his way to helping L.A. win the Super Bowl.
Kupp can still play at the NFL level. He just totaled over 700 receiving yards with six touchdowns without appearing in every game.
If the Rams want to keep Kupp they will make it work within their salary cap. But that’s the point, is keeping him worth all the financial finagling?
Kupp wasn’t traded earlier this past season and that may have been L.A.’s best chance to move him.
It was also an opportunity for Kupp to unleash with the Rams after the trade deadline, and prove he was still a number-one style receiver for the team. He didn’t, as he continued to lessen in the stats category, and lessen his trade value.
There hasn’t been much noise to this point on a tangible trade package for Kupp.
Since the pinnacle season for Kupp, and while the Rams and Les Snead have found Puka Nacua in the 2023 NFL Draft, Kupp has declined in production.
Sean McVay has plenty of experience replacing his wide receivers, and there are viable options to consider when it comes to replacing Kupp, It’s doable, and Nacua has already shown he’s the alpha in L.A. at the wide receiver position.
L.A. could start their future without Kupp now. It’s inevitable, so rip the band-aid off.
You are either drafted with a franchise and ride off into the sunset like an Aaron Donald with that same franchise, or you are shown the door before you think your time is up.
For Kupp, the latter appears to be his path, but the bottom line is until the Rams make a decision the potential outcomes will continuously be monitored.
