The Los Angeles Rams informed Cooper Kupp that they seeking a trade for the star receiver — not the decision that Kupp wanted to hear, according to his post on X on Monday.
“I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA,” Kupp wrote.
“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 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… pic.twitter.com/XWmbGVscGy
— Cooper Kupp (@CooperKupp) February 4, 2025
Kupp, a team captain, was the NFL’s triple crown winner and Super Bowl MVP in 2021, and had previously spent his entire career in L.A. after he was drafted in the third round in 2017. The 2021 Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year said he is expecting to have a full and healthy offseason.
Kupp, 31, finished the regular season with 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. His targets dwindled during the back stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. He had four catches on nine targets over the last three regular-season games, was targeted once for one catch against Minnesota in the wild-card round and caught five passes on seven targets against the Eagles in the divisional-round loss. In his 14 games (including the postseason) this season, Kupp had 10 or more targets just four times and eight or more targets six times.
Injuries have been partially to blame as Kupp has dealt with ailments in each of the last three seasons. He played in just nine regular-season games in 2022, and 12 games apiece in 2023 and 2024 — with a high ankle sprain costing him time this season.
That dip in production did not meet his current salary in the Rams’ eyes. In 2022, Kupp signed a three-year, $80 million contract extension with the Rams. His salary-cap numbers in 2025 and 2026 are $29.7 million and $27.3 million, respectively, with $5 million in guarantees in 2025 and none in 2026 according to Over the Cap. He also is owed roster bonuses of $12.5 million combined over the next two seasons per OTC. The $7.5 million roster bonus owed to Kupp in 2025 triggers on March 19.
Kupp said after the divisional-round loss that he planned to play football in 2025, though allowed that the location was uncertain. The Rams had trade conversations about Kupp with other teams ahead of this year’s deadline.
“Do I want to play next year? Oh yeah,” he said, laughing. “There’s no doubt in my mind I want to play football. I feel like I’ve got a lot of good football left in me. I definitely will be playing — I will be playing football next year. That much I know.”
In separate news conferences earlier this month, neither coach Sean McVay (who has spent his entire tenure with Kupp) nor general manager Les Snead would commit to Kupp’s future with the Rams.
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(Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
