LOS ANGELES — As the NFL trade deadline looms two weeks away, Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has found his name in trade rumors the last two weeks. But the veteran said he doesn’t spend much time dwelling on those possibilities.
“I’m aware of it, but at the end of the day I’m going to be where my feet are,” Kupp told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s all I know. I have a job to do here, and I take a lot of pride in doing everything I can for the guys in this building and being able to step on the field knowing that I prepared the best that I can. For seven-and-a-half years, I’ve been an L.A. Ram and I’ve taken that approach every single day. And whatever happens outside of that, I gotta control what I can control and right now that means being the best L.A. Ram that I can be.”
The Athletic reported Tuesday that the Rams have been proactive in calling teams about the possibility of trading Kupp, and that the Rams have expressed a willingness to take on part of Kupp’s 2024 salary in exchange for a second-round draft pick.
After this season, Kupp has two years left on the contract he signed following the Rams’ Super LVI victory and his NFL Offensive Player of the Year performance in the 2021 season. Kupp is due $20 million in 2025 with only $5 million guaranteed, while none of his $19.85 million salary in 2026 is guaranteed.
Kupp, who was drafted by the Rams in the third round in 2017, said he and his representatives have not had conversations with decision-makers with the team about any potential trade.
“Nothing really. No,” Kupp said. “It’s that time of the year, there’s going to be rumors and things that go around. I let that stuff as much as I can be in the background.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford said he hears about the rumors, but he doesn’t pay much attention at this point in his career, noting that it’s harder on families at home than on the players themselves.
“We’re pro athletes, we’re professional football players; we’ve dealt with this kind of stuff before,” Stafford said. “It comes with the territory. Don’t put much into it, because that’s a disservice to what we’ve got going on here.”
What the Rams (2-4) have going on is a Thursday night matchup with the Minnesota Vikings (5-1), a game that would represent Kupp’s first since spraining his ankle in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. In two games before his injury, he had 18 catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Kupp practiced in a limited capacity last week as the Rams looked to get their top receiver back for their game against the Vikings. But with two games in five days looming, the Rams kept him inactive.
“It’s been good,” said Kupp, who missed four games on injured reserve last season with a hamstring injury. “It was obviously kind of a weird thing last week of being able to get a little bit of practice time and figure out what was going to be possible, tried to push it as much as we could. … I was glad I was able to get some practice last week because Thursday’s don’t really afford you the opportunity to get those practices in.”
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Kupp said he prepared as if he would play, until the training staff ruled him out. That lasted until Sunday morning, when he ran routes on the SoFi Stadium field to test his ankle. But because he had gotten such limited game preparation during the week, he understood the team’s decision to hold him out.
Now he says he feels good. He’s not sure what the plan will be in regards to his workload against the Vikings, but he feels ready to contribute in full.
“I don’t like coming off the field, I would love to be able to play as much as I possibly could. That’s going to be my mindset,” Kupp said. “When I feel like I’m healthy, I feel like I can do it. … But that’s up to the coaches ultimately to decide, training staff, how they want to activate us.”
NOTES
Rams receiver Puka Nacua (knee) was designated to return to practice on Tuesday after missing the last six games on injured reserve. The Rams held a walkthrough as they rest their bodies ahead of the short week, but their practice report estimated that the second-year receiver would have been a limited participant.
The Rams signed cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to their active roster from the practice squad. Witherspoon, who spent last season with the Rams, has been activated from the practice squad in each of the last two games.