Cooper Kupp is uncertain whether his remarkable eight-year career with the Los Angeles Rams came to an end last weekend in Philadelphia.
Although the former All-Pro receiver is under contract for the next two seasons, the massive size of his deal could compel the Rams to part ways with their Super Bowl 56 MVP — and Kupp realizes it.
“Who knows what’s going to happen?” Kupp said Monday as the Rams cleaned out their lockers at their training complex. “A lot of stuff is out of my control. We’ll see what it’s going to be. There’s obviously stuff that was going on early on in the season, and we’ll see. I don’t have any clarity on what that’s going to look like or anything like that. So yeah, obviously would love to be in LA, but I don’t know what that’s going to look like.”
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The “stuff” to which Kupp referred is the trade discussion that likely reminded him everything is temporary in the NFL.
When the Rams began the season 1-4, the Rams took calls gauging their willingness to trade the then-injured Kupp, in part to move that three-year, $80.1 million contract extension. He got the deal after his landmark 2021-22 season, when he won the Triple Crown of receiving and the Super Bowl MVP award in Los Angeles’ win over Cincinnati.
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The math on Kupp’s contract for 2025 is daunting. He is due to take up nearly $30 million in cap space, but the Rams could save about two-thirds of that by releasing Kupp, who will be 32 next season.
The Rams also could try to work with Kupp on a restructuring, but Kupp knows this front office is not a sentimental place: General manager Les Snead released or traded Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Robert Woods before their own contract extensions had even begun.
One thing is certain, however. Kupp is not retiring.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of good football left in me,” Kupp said. “So I definitely will be playing football next year, that much I know.”
Kupp called the just-completed season “frustrating,” both because of his latest injury and because of his limited production after he returned to health. He is gratified by the Rams’ rally from that awful start to an NFC West title and the postseason, where they were probably a couple of frozen-fingered fumbles shy of beating the Eagles and hosting the NFC championship game this week.
Los Angeles’ narrow playoff loss in snowy Philadelphia won’t change the sunny outlook around a team that looks ready to be a contender next season after winning 10 of its last 14 games and making quicker progress on its rebuild than almost anybody expected.
Kupp said Monday he wasn’t playing through any injury that would limit his offseason work, but his numbers were not impressive by his lofty standards. He had 67 catches for 710 yards and six TDs — but just 12 catches for 162 yards in the final five games of the regular season, the least productive stretch of his career.
Kupp seemed to indicate he would have preferred a more prominent role in coach Sean McVay’s offense down the stretch.
“Watching film, there’s things that I’m feeling good about, but production-wise it’s not showing up,” Kupp said. “A lot of stuff is outside my control and it is frustrating, but at the same time, we’re finding ways along that stretch to win games, finding ways to come out of games with Ws, and even though it wasn’t pretty a lot of the times offensively, we got it done. And so there’s frustration there, and I want to be able to feel like I’m impacting games. I can look back on the season and be happy with what I put on tape. Things that I was being asked to do, I feel like I was executing my job.”
After catching just one pass in the Rams’ wild-card round win over Minnesota, Kupp had five receptions for 61 yards against the Eagles.
QB question
The Rams’ offseason plans will hinge on Matthew Stafford, who said Sunday night he will “take some time to think about” his future. But the veteran quarterback sounded optimistic about a return, even moments after fumbling twice in the fourth quarter of a disheartening loss.
Next season would be the 17th for Stafford, who had to manage a rib injury down the stretch. He still took less physical punishment this season than in years past, getting sacked only 28 times in the regular season — his fewest since 2013 in Detroit.
Stafford didn’t speak to reporters Monday.
Big decisions
The Rams’ most prominent unrestricted free agent is left tackle Alaric Jackson. The former undrafted free agent who seized the starting job for the past two seasons is in line for a big payday after a solid season.
Other unrestricted free agents include receiver Tutu Atwell, who should want to play for somebody more willing than McVay to put him on the field; veteran tackle Joe Noteboom; linebacker and special teams standout Michael Hoecht; and defensive lineman Bobby Brown.
Veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson said he would love to return after setting career highs with 505 yards and seven TDs: “I love the organization, love my coaches. Whatever I have to do to try to be here in the same system, because I think it fits well for me.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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