Rams' Puka Nacua Speaks On Cooper Kupp's Departure

When news broke that the Rams were moving on from Cooper Kupp, it sent shockwaves across the NFL, and it confirmed that Puka Nacua was the future of the Los Angeles offense.

Having Kupp as a friend and mentor, Nacua was directly affected by the move as he pondered what the future without Kupp holds.

He sat down with RG.org's DJ Saddiqi to discuss Kupp's departure.

“We spent most of the offseason together training pretty much all the way to when he left out there to Seattle, and we’ve sent a couple messages here and there,” says Nacua of Kupp. “He talked to my college quarterback that’s with the Seahawks right now, Jaren Hall, so I told him to go say some hellos for me to some people I know over there. I know Seattle’s lucky to have him. He’s a great human being and a great football player as well, and it’ll be exciting to see him two times a year now.” Source: RG.org

Nacua and Hall played together at BYU from 2021-2022.

After eight years of service to the Rams, Cooper Kupp was released following multiple injury riddled years after his triple crown, Super Bowl winning 2021 season.

Sean McVay spoke on the decision in March.

"I mean, you just said it. This guy has changed my life for the better. We've had eight years together. These decisions, similar to Matthew, are not made as a separate entity. These are for the team. You're ultimately trying to put the puzzle together and with a lot of thought and consideration, we just felt like that was the best direction for our football team."

"It doesn't take away the love, respect, and gratitude that you have for what he's done, but it just came down to what we think is best in terms of putting together the whole puzzle. There are obviously a lot of layers to that. I think you always acknowledge the fact that... Hey, [I've] been wrong before and could be wrong again, but we always try to have our core values and the big picture shape our perspective and really our decision-making."

"It's not easy, but I couldn't be more impressed with the human being and how he handles some of those conversations. No matter what, his legacy is cemented as an all-time Ram and most importantly, I'm a better human for having had these eight years with him."

Nacua and Kupp are set to face off twice next season as Kupp joined the Seattle Seahawks.