Cooper Kupp announced on Feb. 3 that the Los Angeles Rams informed him of their plans to seek “a trade immediately.” It signaled the end of an era for Kupp in L.A., though the team has yet to move the veteran receiver almost two weeks later.
His announcement on social media caught everyone off guard, potentially even the Rams. Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports said on Thursday that the Rams are “not real happy” that Kupp went public “with something they tried to keep quiet.”
While that may be true, it’s hard to believe the Rams didn’t know Kupp would share that news publicly. And after talking about a potential trade back in October, teams had to already know the Rams might move him again this offseason.
“The Rams like Matt Stafford but they’re tiring of the constant quarterback talk, his wife saying things publicly, they’re not real happy with Cooper Kupp going public with something they tried to keep quiet,” Cowherd said. “They’re kind of over Cooper Kupp and with that, a little bit, Matt Stafford. They like him, but they don’t want to restructure his deal and give him a big contract.”
Kupp has a bonus due in March, which is a soft deadline for the Rams to get a trade done. If they don’t strike a deal before the middle of March, they’ll be on the hook for that $7.5 million bonus. If they trade Kupp before then, it’ll be the other team’s responsibility.
The Rams don’t have much leverage in this situation to begin with, but they can’t blame Kupp for that.