Rams Enter A Bold New Era

In their interview, Stafford spoke about Kupp's impact on his career, his everyday presence, and his departure from the Rams this offseason.

Stafford was asked about Kupp's departure. The Rams initially announced they would be seeking a trade for Kupp, even willing to eat a large portion of his contract to facilitate a trade. A trade partner never materialized, and thus, the Rams released Kupp.

"I ran into him right kind of when they told him the news that they're talking about trading him, and obviously that one is tough," stated Stafford. "You're around this game long enough, those kind of things happen, you know, and, it's tough, especially for a guy that's meant so much to me in my career, and how he helped me get in with with the Rams and just in that locker room, and what it's all about to be a part of that team, he was such a huge part of that for me. So it's tough and I've spent probably more time with him as a teammate than really any other teammate in my career."

"That just kind of happened organically. I would go in there early, and, you know, sure enough, Cooper being there, he'd walk in as I'm walking in, and we start watching tape together, and then it just turned into a thing that we just did every day and so I spent a ton of time with him. He's meant a ton to me as a player, but even more probably, as a person. You talk to guys, including Sean, guys around that team have been with him for extended periods of time, and he's a fantastic player. He means a ton to our team, but just as a human being, as a person, he's as good as it gets."

Kupp's attention to detail powered the Rams over eight successful seasons

Sean McVay's entire offense is predicated on receivers making key blocks. Kupp, wanting to be the ultimate contributor and teammate, would have discussions with Stafford to modify his blocking assignments in order to be more efficient.

"He's pretty dialed in, like he asked me really good questions, just from a quarterback perspective. I mean, he knows as much or more than any other teammate I've ever had. This guy will be watching practice or something, and he's like, 'hey, run that play back.' I'm like, and it's some run play and he's like, we really could knock it back, tag it back, one here, with these angles and single high, and I could just block the Mike [linebacker] instead of having to go out to the nickel in this two by two set and I'm like, yeah, I mean, if you want it to change, go ahead. He's grinding on every run play, every single thing he's he's meticulous about and shoot. It's, you know, part of what makes him great."

2025 represents the first year ever that Sean McVay will be a head coach and not have Kupp on his roster. In the offseason, Kupp returned to his home state of Washington, joining up with the Seattle Seahawks.

While the franchise has moved forward with Davante Adams, their preseason game against Dallas on Saturday will mark the first time Kupp won't be on the Rams' sidelines. Let's see if their decision pays off.