Cooper Kupp has been a staple of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense since being drafted in 2017. He became a star playing under head coach Sean McVay and helped lead the Rams to a win in Super Bowl LVI, taking home MVP honors.
However, Kupp has been hampered by injuries and had a lackluster finish to the 2024 season. Kupp admitted he’s unsure of his future in Los Angeles and while McVay expressed his appreciation for the wideout he also sounded non-committal about their partnership.
“I think you know from our time together how much those guys have meant to me personally, professionally, and what they mean to our football team,” McVay said of Kupp and Matthew Stafford. “Like anything else, let’s let the emotions of the season die down. Let’s really sit down with ownership, with the rest of the leadership group, with our coaching staff and let’s really evaluate… alright, what’s the best thing for the Rams football team moving into 2025? I’m sure grateful and appreciative of those guys and what they’ve meant to me both personally and professionally.”
McVay also detailed what Kupp has meant to him over the years and praised him for the player and person he is.
“I think how he feels is honest about the situation. I think he’s been very clear and upfront and I respect that. What’s unique is as you go through eight years of this, there are certain people that you come across… Cooper has changed my life for the better. He’s made an impact on me, most importantly, as a person. What he’s done as a player is incredibly amazing in regard to the production but also he’s been so important in terms of a lot of the things that we’ve been able to build with what he represents as a captain, the production. These things are very real and you try to say, ‘It’s business and it’s personal.’ It all blends together because this is still a relationship. I think he’s honest about the situation. I think those are the things that make it challenging.
“One of the things that I’ve learned from him as much as anybody is there’s no good way to go about hard conversations other than just straight to the point. If you really love somebody enough then you’re able to be honest and direct with them. He’s always done that to me. That’s what I’ve done with him. We’ll be able to figure out what’s the best way to navigate that moving forward. Like he said to you guys, he has good football left. He wants to play for a handful more years. He has good football. I thought he did a good job with the things that he could control. For that, I’m really proud of him.”
Given Kupp’s age and injury history, moving on might make the most sense though there’s no denying his status as a franchise icon. Kupp has two years remaining on his contract, with $5 million guaranteed in 2025. If the Rams cut him this offseason, they will save about $7.52 million against the salary cap.
Sean McVay offers evaluation of Cooper Kupp’s 2024 season
Cooper Kupp seemingly was phased out of the offense down the stretch with the focus on the run game and Puka Nacua’s continued ascent. However, Sean McVay still was happy with how much Kupp produced.
“I think what he said was accurate. All you can do from a receiver perspective… Am I separating and am I doing the things that I’m asked on every single play? I think he can be proud of that. I was really pleased and proud of the way that he led and the way that he handled himself.
“Certainly, when you’re a guy of his caliber that’s made the kind of impact from just the statistical perspective, I thought it was an outstanding illustration of his leadership, but I think there were some frustrating things overall just from some of the inconsistencies throughout the course of the year especially from an offensive perspective that we’ll need to address. That’ll be something that we will really be intentional about this offseason. I was proud of Cooper. I thought he did a nice job.”
While Kupp might not be nearly as fast or quick as he used to be, he still found ways to be effective either as a decoy or run blocker. However, it remains to be seen if the Rams will part ways with him this offseason.
