INGLEWOOD — Trade speculation surrounding the availability of Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been at a fever pitch this week. Some reports indicated teams had called the Rams to inquire about Kupp’s availability – standard operating procedure in the NFL. Others reported that the Rams had been proactive in their attempts to trade him.
After the Rams’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, head coach Sean McVay did his best to put those rumors to rest.
“Teams reached out; some of the things that I’ve seen out there, they’re just not true,” McVay said. “We’ve addressed that with those individuals. Teams have called about him and really we let him know what the dialogue was there. And then there’s a lot of stuff out there where there’s not a lot of accountability to the reports. And that’s unfortunate. … I think a lot of the things that were out there, speculation, was exactly what that was. Speculation.”
McVay added, “I’m really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us, and that’s what I expect to stay that way.”
Thursday was Kupp’s first game back after missing four contests with an ankle sprain. The 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl LVI MVP started a little slow, not bringing in his first two targets and going catch-less through the first quarter.
But to close the Rams’ second drive, quarterback Matthew Stafford found Kupp in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown after ducking two potential sacks to extend the play.
“Someone just recently did that duck through, ran up and made a play. Matthew was saying, it was literally this morning, he’s like, ‘I’m just too old to be making that move,’” Kupp said. “After he threw the ball, I was looking for him, like, ‘You huge liar.’ He needs a little self doubt there, he needs to doubt himself a little bit so he can see, ‘Oh yeah, maybe I can do it.’ But he was pumped after that. He had that Matthew Stafford walk going on the sideline.”
Kupp finished the game with five catches for 51 yards, and said it was fun to be back on the field with his teammates after a month away from game action.
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And there was also a certain satisfaction in putting together a winning performance in the midst of all the trade rumors.
“I’m not thinking about that stuff, I’m not weighing anything against that,” Kupp said. “But there’s something that’s kind of cool about all that stuff going on outside the facility, but on a short week, every minute spent preparing trying to get ready to come out here and play. … All that stuff is what it is. You guys got two more weeks to get those questions in.”