Cooper Kupp To The Saints? Here's Why It Can't Be Ruled Out

Recently, the Los Angeles Rams have been rumored to be shopping their productive eighth-year wide receiver. In fact, Kupp himself acknowledged this with a recent statement on his social media account. 

''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,” Kupp wrote. “I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA. 

''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 have taken so much pride in playing alongside my teammates for the LA community, so thank you for embracing my family and making this such a special place for us. 2024 began with one of the best training camps of my career. Preparations start now for 2025. Highly motivated, as healthy as ever, and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come. Love you guys.. But coming for it all.''

A third-round choice by the Rams in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Eastern Washington, Kupp has 634 career receptions for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.

In 2021, Kupp led the NFL with 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns, a rare winner of the NFL's ''triple crown'' for receivers. The reception and yardage totals were each second highest in NFL history for a single season. 

Kupp's historic production earned him the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. He'd cap off the year by also winning Super Bowl MVP honors with 8 catches for 92 yards and two scores in the Rams Super Bowl LVI win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Since that historic 2021-22 campaign, Kupp has dealt with a variety of injuries. Over the last three seasons, he's 18 games with various issues. He's remained productive when in the lineup, catching 201 passes for 2,259 yards and 17 scores.

This past season, Kupp appeared in 12 games after an early season injury. He had 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns. However, it was also clear that he'd been surpassed as the Rams top receiver by Puka Nacua. 

The emergence of wideouts DeMarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell may also make the Rams feel like Kupp is expendable. He'll turn 32 this offseason and has averaged only 11.2 yards per reception the last three years.

Why Kupp Could Land In New Orleans 

In 2022, Los Angeles signed Kupp to a three-year contract extension worth $80 million. He's restructured his deal twice and carry a cap hit of $29.8 million for the Rams this year with a dead cap figure of nearly $22.7 million. Because of restructures, Kupp is also set to count $27.3 million against the salary cap for the 2026 season.

That's obviously too steep for the Saints to swing. There's also a question of compensation. Los Angeles has not revealed what they'll be seeking in a potential trade. Kupp's age, recent injury history, and declining production may not result in a highly demanding market. 

On Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the Rams may be open to eating some of Kupp's contract to make a trade happen.  

Rapoport's statement:

''I would add my understanding that the Rams are at least willing to eat some of the money, potentially paying down the $7.5 million signing bonus, which a lot of that is fully guaranteed for Kupp, maybe easing the burden on an acquiring team and maybe making a trade a little easier.''

There's still a question of compensation. If New Orleans were interested in Kupp, they'd likely try to wait until the asking price goes down if other teams show little interest. The Saints would also likely want to renegotiate Kupp's current deal, possibly adding years to spread out the initial cap hit.

Family Connection 

Cooper Kupp's grandfather, Jake Kupp, was a member of the original New Orleans Saints team in 1967.  

A 12-year NFL veteran offensive lineman, Jake Kupp played for the Cowboys and Redskins before being selected by the Saints in the 1967 Expansion Draft. 

Jake played five games for the Saints in 1967 before being released and picked up by the Atlanta Falcons. During the 1968 offseason, Kupp was traded back to the Saints. Jake played the rest of his career in New Orleans until 1975, including a Pro Bowl campaign in 1969.

Jake Kupp was named to the Saints 25th, 40th, and 50th anniversary teams. In 1992, he was elected into the Saints Hall of Fame. He was the first New Orleans offensive lineman to receive that honor.

Family connections alone won't be enough to sway a trade of Cooper Kupp to the Saints. However, it could help if demand for the veteran wide receiver isn't high throughout the league.

Will Cooper Kupp wind up a Saint? Doubtful, but he'd certainly be a tremendous asset to a New Orleans team needing another productive wideout to go along with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed for quarterback Derek Carr.