The Los Angeles Rams will have some new faces in their wide receiver room next season as Davante Adams was signed to a two-year contract to essentially replace Cooper Kupp, who is getting released after the team couldn’t find a trade for him.
Adams gives the Rams the big playmaking threat they were looking for to pair with Puka Nacua as one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL.
The team has solid depth behind them as well in Tutu Atwell, Jordan Whittington and Drake Stoops. The latter didn’t play last season after signing with the Rams as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma, but returned to L.A. on a reserve/futures contract.
Stoops will unfortunately have a delayed start to the 2025 season after being suspended for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:
#Rams WR Drake Stoops is suspended without pay for the first two games of the 2025 regular season for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, the league announced today.
He is permitted to participate in training camp and preseason games without restriction.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2025
Drake, the son of legendary Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops, will still be allowed to participate in the Rams’ training camp and preseason games with no restrictions.
While it’s disappointing that Stoops won’t be able to suit up at the start of the regular season, he can hopefully learn from this experience and use it as motivation when his suspension ends.
The Rams were without Alaric Jackson for two games last season after he was suspended as well and the team was able to endure the stretch with the depth they had.
Rams release Cooper Kupp
It became clear early in the offseason that the Rams would be moving on from franchise icon Cooper Kupp after he announced the organization’s intention to trade him.
However, the team was unable to find a deal for Kupp so they have decided to release him at the start of the new league year.
With the Rams releasing Kupp and designating it as a post-June 1 cut, the dead cap charge will be $14.78 million in 2025 and $7.48 million in 2026. They added $15 million in cap space that can be used after June 1.
