According to NFL Network’s NFL Insider Tom Pelissero, the Los Angeles Rams dropped the second shoe today. Hard. They officially released Cooper Kupp from their roster after unsuccessfully finding a trade partner for him since early February:
Source: The #Rams have informed WR Cooper Kupp they’re releasing him today. pic.twitter.com/WU3AR8G8O4
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 12, 2025
After Cooper Kupp announced—with no shortage of vinegar in his tone—that the team had informed him of their intent to trade him on February 3rd, 2025, it appears no front office was willing to match the Rams’ asking price. Meanwhile, they signed Davante Adams to replace Kupp. He’s remained on the roster this whole time, of course, because he’s still under contract with the Rams.
It’s precisely that contract that caused so many issues. I get into Kupp’s most likely landing spots in this piece here, in which I break down the fallout between he and the Rams in much more longform depth. I do however, in brief, break down the contract issues below.
Before we get to the messiness, let’s just acknowledge that it’s official. Cooper Kupp’s tenure as a Ram is over. He leaves a legacy that firmly places him among the greatest receivers in Los Angeles Rams history. Over eight seasons, Kupp has hauled in 625 receptions for 8,200 yards and 59 touchdowns, numbers that rival some of the franchise’s all-time greats. His 2021 campaign was nothing short of legendary—he secured the rare Triple Crown by leading the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and touchdowns (16), a feat accomplished by only a handful of receivers in NFL history.
That same season, he not only won NFL Offensive Player of the Year but also cemented his legacy with a clutch Super Bowl LVI performance, earning MVP honors after torching the Bengals for 92 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. Kupp holds the NFL record for most receptions in a player’s first 100 games (625) and the most yards from scrimmage by a wide receiver in a single season (1,965), adding to his case as one of the best to ever wear a Rams uniform.
For more information, here’s some quoted text from my column referenced above:
What went wrong with Cooper Kupp and the Rams
The contract
Blame the Super Bowl win in 2021, I guess? We can talk all we want about how Kupp was a lifelong Ram, drafted by the team out of Eastern Washington. His quiet ascendance through the Goff years. What his presence as an anchor meant to Sean McVay as McVay instituted, at the time, an offense more complex than that of most other NFL teams. How it’s just fine to believe the organization owes him just as much loyalty as Matthew Stafford in this late-era Los Angeles core.
But where this whole thing started and ended was with Cooper Kupp winning triple crown, unofficial though it may be—earning it with a consistent excellency we hadn’t seen since the likes of Jerry Rice—in the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI season: 145 receptions, 1,947 yards, 16 touchdowns. He was the most important player on their offense in the playoffs, and caught the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He won Super Bowl MVP, too.
As such, in 2022, the Rams rewarded Kupp with a three-year, $80.1 million extension that guaranteed him $75 million up front, the most ever guaranteed to a wide receiver. He was 29 then. There were initial concerns this was too much of a heart deal, and that the back end of his contract would set both sides up for failure. It did.
Here’s the exact structure:
Year Base Salary Cap Hit Dead Cap
2022 (Old Deal) $10M $17.8M $35.5M
2023 $15M $17.3M $47.2M
2024 $15M $27.8M $31.4M
2025 $12.5M $29.7M $14.9M
2026 $14.85M $27.3M $4.9M It’s those two bolded numbers—the $29.7M and 27.3M cap hits in 2025 and 2026—that have the Rams looking to use Cooper Kupp’s contract to free them from potentially-souring salary cap implications now. Why, even despite a season in which Kupp himself—famously his own worst critic—said he felt what he put on tape was great?
Health, age, missed time. Those can truly be the only reasons, barring a locker room toxicity we’ve neither any information about, nor any historical reason to believe Kupp that would self-destruct as such. It wasn’t lack of production, either.
Here are a list of Kupp’s injuries after pen hit paper:
2022 Season:
- October 30, 2022: Minor ankle sprain during a game continued to play, didn’t miss any games until…
- November 13, 2022: High ankle sprain, a Grade 3 injury, which required surgery. Out for season.
2023 Season:
- August 1, 2023: Hamstring strain in training camp. He tried to fight through it later in August, but aggravated the injury. He didn’t play until Week 5.
- November 19, 2023: Ankle sprain, but missed no games.
2024 Season:
- September 15, 2024: High ankle sprain, a Grade 3 injury, which led to him missing five games. No surgery.
The Rams simply view this medical history as too much risk for two more years of $25-30 million. They’re not altogether wrong. When you lay it out like this, you understand the organization might be thinking they’re paying for a receiver who historically, now, can only shoulder just around two-thirds of an NFL season. And those ankle sprains have to be adding up, right?
Last note: Kupp’s base salary for 2025, including roster bonuses (not listed above), is actually $20 million. The Rams want nothing to do with that, and so they’re seeking trading partners for Kupp as soon as possible.
