The Los Angeles Rams making Cooper Kupp available for trade should have the Washington Commanders putting together a deal for two compelling reasons.
Those reasons are spelled out by NFL.com columnist Jeff Chadiha. He explained how the Commanders “struck gold with Jayden Daniels in Year 1. Now it’s time to keep giving him weapons to put this team in position to make another run at the NFC championship.”
Returning to the Conference title game won’t only require the Commanders adding more talent around dynamic, dual-threat quarterback Daniels. It will also mean having to get past “the team that beat them in the NFC Championship Game, the Philadelphia Eagles.”
As Chadiha pointed out, “It won’t be easy for the Commanders to again go as far as they did in 2024, but adding Kupp will make that goal much more attainable.”
Cooper Trade a Deal Commanders Can Afford
Engineering a trade for Kupp is well within the Commanders’ range because they “are projected to have a ton of cap space, so they can handle Kupp’s contract,” per Chadiha. As for what Kupp’s contract might look like, Spotrac.com’s Michael Ginnitti outlined how the wideout’s next team would acquire “2025: $20M ($5M GTD) 2026: $19.85M (non-GTD).”
Those figures won’t deter Commanders general manager Adam Peters, who is projected to have $82,410,623 worth of space under the salary cap. This level of financial flexibility sweetens the pot for acquiring a former Super Bowl MVP and the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Kupp’s disappointed about being on the trade block, but he was also “blunt on the last day of the season in speaking with us about his uncertainty that he’d be part of the Rams’ plans moving forward. What he WAS clear on was that he wants to keep playing,” according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
He’s not quite the player he was, but the 31-year-old can still dominate between the hashmarks and be moved all across formations. Kupp’s move skills would make him a nice complement to Daniels’ go-to target Terry McLaurin, who is at his best on the perimeter.
Adding Kupp would equip Daniels with a prolific playmaker on the inside. It’s a role several receivers tried and failed to make their own for the Commanders this season.
Commanders Need More Effective Inside Receiver
There was no shortage of candidates for the slot this season, but nobody distinguished themselves as an effective inside target. Veterans Olamide Zaccheaus and Jamison Crowder had their moments, but neither can match Kupp’s expertise, subtle route-running and production.
This play against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9, highlighted by the Receiver School, showcased Kupp’s enduring ability to gain separation between the numbers.
While he can still make plays like this, Kupp was taken out of his comfort zone in 2024 by a change to his role. The change involved the Rams shifting “away from Kupp as the focal point of their offense this year, giving Puka Nacua the easy-button targets during the second half of the season with Kupp operating as a field-stretcher. His average target depth sat at 10.4 from Week 10 onward. He has never had an aDOT above 10 over the course of a full season. This shift crushed his ability to earn targets. Kupp had a 20 percent target share over his final 10 games. Matthew Stafford looked his way on 19 percent of his routes. For reference, those numbers were at 25 and 23 in 2023,” according to Kyle Dvorchak of NBC Sports.
Kupp could get back to what he does best by joining Washington’s offense and coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Dvorchak noted how thanks to “Kingsbury’s love of short throws, the Commanders might be able to revive Kupp by returning him to an underneath possession role.”
Kingsbury would welcome a proven commodity to work the middle of the field. Especially after 2024 NFL draft third-round pick Luke McCaffrey made a mere 18 catches during a disappointing rookie campaign.
The Commanders won’t find a receiver with Kupp’s track record on the free-agency market. Nor can they rely on their incumbent options making the leap Daniels is going to need in Year 2.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Commanders Have 2 Compelling Reasons to Trade for Cooper Kupp appeared first on Heavy Sports.