The Rams have informed Cooper Kupp he'll be traded or released this offseason. Kupp himself posted the news, saying it would happen "immediately." The start of the league year is a month away and there won't be any games played for a while after tomorrow, but whatever.
This story got some attention with Kupp having been one of the league's best wideouts for the past half-decade; he's a big name and has been a great receiver. But I find it difficult to be overly interested in this story. Wherever he goes, he'll be leaving an offensive system and quarterback that's been perfect for him. Maybe he'll go somewhere where he's competing for targets with less of a No. 1 than Puka Nacua, but if he were even a strong No. 2 wide receiver these days, would the Rams really be moving on?
Most likely he'll be acquired by some team looking for a starting wideout, and maybe drafted as such in fantasy leagues next year. But watching him play this season, I don't think he's that guy anymore. He turns 32 in June, and he's definitely played his best ball.
Kupp started out strong, certainly. In his first seven healthy games, he caught 55 passes for 548 yards and 5 touchdowns. That worked out to 15.7 points per week in PPR leagues, which ranked him 16th among wide receivers (among all wideouts to play at least 7 games).
But he pretty much fell off the map in his last seven games (five regular season, and two playoff games). In those seven games, he caught 18 passes for 252 yards and 1 touchdown. Same offense, same quarterback, but a much lesser Kupp. His 7 PPR points per week ranked him 83rd on that same table. (I cropped the table at 7.0.)
| WIDE RECEIVERS, POINTS PER GAME, 2024 (7-PLUS) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | No | Rec | TD | PPR | PPR/G |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 17 | 127 | 1708 | 17 | 403.0 | 23.7 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 7 | 50 | 576 | 5 | 137.8 | 19.7 |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 11 | 79 | 990 | 4 | 206.6 | 18.8 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 17 | 115 | 1263 | 12 | 318.3 | 18.7 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 17 | 103 | 1533 | 10 | 317.7 | 18.7 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 12 | 73 | 911 | 10 | 224.1 | 18.7 |
| Malik Nabers, NYG | 15 | 109 | 1204 | 7 | 273.6 | 18.2 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 15 | 101 | 1194 | 6 | 265.4 | 17.7 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 12 | 68 | 1006 | 7 | 210.6 | 17.6 |
| Davante Adams, 2TM | 14 | 85 | 1063 | 8 | 241.3 | 17.2 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 14 | 74 | 1004 | 11 | 240.4 | 17.2 |
| Brian Thomas, Jac. | 17 | 87 | 1282 | 10 | 284.0 | 16.7 |
| A.J. Brown, Phil. | 13 | 67 | 1079 | 7 | 216.9 | 16.7 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 17 | 100 | 1271 | 9 | 280.8 | 16.5 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 17 | 82 | 1096 | 13 | 269.8 | 15.9 |
| Cooper Kupp (1st half), LAR | 7 | 55 | 548 | 5 | 109.8 | 15.7 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phil. | 13 | 68 | 833 | 8 | 199.4 | 15.3 |
| Stefon Diggs, Hou. | 8 | 47 | 496 | 4 | 122.1 | 15.3 |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 16 | 82 | 1149 | 7 | 240.9 | 15.1 |
| Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 17 | 101 | 1104 | 7 | 255.9 | 15.1 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 17 | 100 | 1130 | 6 | 253.4 | 14.9 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 12 | 67 | 710 | 6 | 175.0 | 14.6 |
| Jakobi Meyers, L.V. | 15 | 87 | 1027 | 4 | 218.0 | 14.5 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 17 | 81 | 1081 | 8 | 242.6 | 14.3 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 17 | 90 | 1229 | 4 | 240.9 | 14.2 |
| Jordan Addison, Min. | 15 | 63 | 875 | 10 | 212.5 | 14.2 |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 15 | 58 | 1001 | 8 | 212.2 | 14.1 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 17 | 98 | 966 | 6 | 240.1 | 14.1 |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 15 | 77 | 975 | 6 | 210.5 | 14.0 |
| Adam Thielen, Car. | 10 | 48 | 615 | 5 | 139.5 | 14.0 |
| Josh Downs, Ind. | 14 | 72 | 803 | 5 | 183.5 | 13.1 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 15 | 66 | 992 | 5 | 195.2 | 13.0 |
| Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 17 | 81 | 959 | 6 | 218.2 | 12.8 |
| Keenan Allen, Chi. | 15 | 70 | 744 | 7 | 186.4 | 12.4 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 17 | 74 | 1059 | 4 | 209.5 | 12.3 |
| Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 15 | 76 | 821 | 4 | 182.5 | 12.2 |
| Darnell Mooney, Atl. | 16 | 64 | 992 | 5 | 193.2 | 12.1 |
| George Pickens, Pitt. | 14 | 59 | 900 | 3 | 166.4 | 11.9 |
| Calvin Ridley, Ten. | 17 | 64 | 1017 | 5 | 201.2 | 11.8 |
| Jayden Reed, G.B. | 17 | 55 | 857 | 7 | 199.0 | 11.7 |
| Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 17 | 62 | 885 | 8 | 198.5 | 11.7 |
| Quentin Johnston, LAC | 15 | 55 | 711 | 8 | 174.7 | 11.6 |
| Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 17 | 59 | 638 | 9 | 187.2 | 11.0 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 17 | 93 | 699 | 3 | 182.7 | 10.7 |
| Allen Lazard, NYJ | 12 | 37 | 530 | 6 | 126.0 | 10.5 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 16 | 69 | 808 | 3 | 167.8 | 10.5 |
| Jalen McMillan, T.B. | 13 | 37 | 461 | 8 | 135.4 | 10.4 |
| Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 15 | 51 | 670 | 4 | 155.6 | 10.4 |
| Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 17 | 45 | 756 | 9 | 174.6 | 10.3 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 13 | 46 | 601 | 4 | 132.1 | 10.2 |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 16 | 37 | 824 | 7 | 161.4 | 10.1 |
| Tank Dell, Hou. | 14 | 51 | 667 | 3 | 140.0 | 10.0 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 15 | 58 | 744 | 2 | 149.6 | 10.0 |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 8 | 32 | 400 | 1 | 78.7 | 9.8 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, 2TM | 16 | 56 | 610 | 5 | 147.0 | 9.2 |
| Jalen Tolbert, Dall. | 17 | 49 | 610 | 7 | 152.0 | 8.9 |
| Brandon Aiyuk, S.F. | 7 | 25 | 374 | 0 | 62.4 | 8.9 |
| Christian Kirk, Jac. | 8 | 27 | 379 | 1 | 70.9 | 8.9 |
| Amari Cooper, 2TM | 14 | 44 | 547 | 4 | 122.7 | 8.8 |
| Demario Douglas, N.E. | 17 | 66 | 621 | 3 | 147.7 | 8.7 |
| Rome Odunze, Chi. | 17 | 54 | 734 | 3 | 146.9 | 8.6 |
| Keon Coleman, Buff. | 13 | 29 | 556 | 4 | 111.5 | 8.6 |
| Ray-Ray McCloud, Atl. | 17 | 62 | 686 | 1 | 144.5 | 8.5 |
| Ricky Pearsall, S.F. | 11 | 31 | 400 | 3 | 93.5 | 8.5 |
| Jalen Coker, Car. | 11 | 32 | 478 | 2 | 92.8 | 8.4 |
| Devaughn Vele, Den. | 13 | 41 | 475 | 3 | 106.5 | 8.2 |
| Kayshon Boutte, N.E. | 15 | 43 | 589 | 3 | 121.9 | 8.1 |
| Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Ten. | 17 | 32 | 497 | 9 | 135.7 | 8.0 |
| Michael Wilson, Ari. | 16 | 47 | 548 | 4 | 126.5 | 7.9 |
| Noah Brown, Was. | 11 | 35 | 453 | 1 | 86.3 | 7.8 |
| Xavier Legette, Car. | 16 | 49 | 497 | 4 | 125.1 | 7.8 |
| Marvin Mims, Den. | 17 | 39 | 503 | 6 | 129.5 | 7.6 |
| Tre Tucker, L.V. | 17 | 47 | 539 | 4 | 129.3 | 7.6 |
| Cedric Tillman, Cle. | 11 | 29 | 339 | 3 | 82.4 | 7.5 |
| Diontae Johnson, 3 tms | 12 | 33 | 375 | 3 | 89.1 | 7.4 |
| Demarcus Robinson, LAR | 17 | 31 | 505 | 7 | 123.5 | 7.3 |
| Josh Palmer, LAC | 15 | 39 | 584 | 1 | 107.4 | 7.2 |
| Christian Watson, G.B. | 15 | 29 | 620 | 2 | 107.3 | 7.2 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 17 | 49 | 600 | 2 | 121.0 | 7.1 |
| Elijah Moore, Cle. | 17 | 61 | 538 | 1 | 120.9 | 7.1 |
| Calvin Austin, Pitt. | 17 | 36 | 548 | 5 | 120.8 | 7.1 |
| Andrei Iosivas, Cin. | 17 | 36 | 479 | 6 | 119.9 | 7.1 |
| Cooper Kupp (2nd half), LAR | 7 | 18 | 252 | 1 | 49.2 | 7.0 |
| Brandin Cooks, Dall. | 10 | 26 | 259 | 3 | 69.6 | 7.0 |
The Rams are a contending team with hopes of making another postseason run. If they thought Kupp could still perform at the level he played in his first seven games last year, they'd be trying to work something out. Instead, they're moving on.
We'll see, but I don't think Kupp will be a significant receiver in 2025. Probably more of a No. 3 in fantasy leagues, and maybe in the NFL, too.
--Andy Richardson