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Previewing Potential Cooper Kupp Trade for Denver Broncos

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Christian Paolantonio | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 6:00 PM ET

Los Angeles Rams All-Pro WR Cooper Kupp announced on social media earlier in the week that Los Angeles' brass informed him of his likely departure from the team this offseason.

With rumors swirling around the league, Denver has popped up in plenty of conversations for a potential trade for Kupp.

Some even view them as one of the favorites.

WR1 Courtland Sutton, now 29 years old, is set to make the second-most on the team in 2025 with a cap hit of $20.2 million.

Sutton is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, where he finished with 81 receptions, 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The flip side is that Sutton is the only Broncos wideout making over $2 million next season, with Marvin Mims set to make slightly over $1.6 million.

It’s been widely reported that the Rams are willing to cover at least half of Kupp’s guaranteed $20 million in 2025. With Denver heading into this offseason with just over $36 million to play with, Kupp fits into the realm of possibilities for general manager George Paton.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is coming off a stellar rookie campaign as the final quarterback selected in the first round of last year’s draft, leading Denver to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Nix finished in the top half of the league in nearly every passing statistic but struggled to push the ball downfield unless it was to a receiver with “Mims Jr.” labeled on the back of his jersey.

Throughout Kupp’s career, his success has primarily come from the short to intermediate areas of the field, an area in which Nix often found success.

There are two underlying key questions in this situation for Denver, one that pertains to the front office and one for the coaching staff.

For the front office, do they believe Denver is ready to make a deep playoff push? As for head coach Sean Payton and his staff, does Kupp ultimately fit the direction Nix is trending toward?

Expect both to be answered by March.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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