The latest player to enter the NFL trade market is Cooper Kupp.
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver announced earlier this week that the team plans to trade him. Kupp was a 2017 third-round pick of the Rams and developed into one of the league’s most reliable wideouts. His 2021 season — 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns — was one of the best in the history of the position, and it ended with a Super Bowl LVI MVP.
But it appears both sides will be moving on. What kind of interest will Kupp draw on the trade market? ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided an update Thursday on SportsCenter.
“The executives I’ve been texting with today do believe that Cooper Kupp will have a market because he’s quarterback-friendly, he can make contested catches, he’s still the smartest guy on any field he steps on, and he’s a hard worker who can set a tone with a new franchise,” Fowler said.
“But we might not be talking about a robust market because of the age and declining production, some of the injuries, and he’s due $20 million next season, with $5.5 million of that guaranteed. I don’t doubt the Rams would eat some of the money to facilitate a trade, so that could certainly help matters.”
Which teams might make sense as a potential trade partner for Kupp?
“As far as early teams that people are sort of bantering about — the Pittsburgh Steelers looked into Cooper Kupp at the trade deadline last season. They still have a need there,” Fowler said. “Washington could look for a compliment to Terry McLaurin. The Patriots would be foolish not to at least check in on this given their wide receiver situation.”
A healthy Kupp would be a huge boost to any team. The problem is staying on the field has been an issue for the 31-year-old veteran in recent seasons. He has missed five games in each of the last two years, while playing in just nine games in 2022.
The Patriots have an obvious need for wide receiver help, and with a league-leading $120 million in salary cap space, they have the financial flexibility to take on Kupp’s expensive contract.
Our Patriots insider Phil Perry wrote a column this week that detailed why Kupp would be an excellent addition for New England, and not just because of his on-field production.
“The Patriots are in dire need of professional receiver help,” Perry wrote. “The kind of help that wouldn’t only make a young quarterback more comfortable in gotta-have-it situations, but would also help raise the overall level of professionalism of the others in the receiver room in Foxboro.”
Whether it’s Kupp or someone else, the Patriots must make a splash at the wide receiver position this offseason and give quarterback Drake Maye more weapons to work with on offense.
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