GREEN BAY, Wis. – Unable to find a trade partner, the Los Angeles Rams have released former All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp.
According to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov, the Packers were among the teams “waiting for him to be released.”
The Packers’ issues at receiver have been well-chronicled. In a span of 12 months, Green Bay’s receiver corps has gone from young and potentially dominant to young and disappointing. Between Christian Watson’s torn ACL, Romeo Doubs’ concussions and suspension and Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks’ drops, the Packers seem to have more questions than answers.
Nonetheless, the Packers were not interested in reuniting with Davante Adams, who replaced Kupp with the Rams, and not interested enough to do much more than dip their toes into the D.K. Metcalf pool before he was traded to the Steelers.
Enter Kupp, who probably is the best player available in a receiver market that’s been weak all along.
“We sat down with Cooper and said this was definitely something we were going to look into based on over the course of the year, especially there at the trade deadline where people were knocking on the door to see if we were willing to trade him,” Rams GM Les Snead said last week.
“And just moving forward, we felt like this could be time for the next chapter for both parties, even though obviously all the chapters up until now have been very fruitful and impactful. All you can think of is the Super Bowl MVP, and we wouldn’t be champions without Cooper on that field that night.”
Just like all the receivers who were available in free agency, Kupp is flawed.
One, he’s old. He’ll turn 32 in June.
Two, he’s been injured. Since winning the Receiver Triple Crown in 2021, Kupp has missed 18 of a possible 51 games. Kupp, who suffered a torn ACL in 2018, missed the second half of the 2022 season due to an ankle injury that required surgery, the start of 2023 with a thigh injury and four games in 2024 with an ankle injury.
Three, he’s become less productive. That’s not just the injuries meaning fewer opportunities. “Success rate” measures plays that keep teams ahead of the sticks. A successful play gains 4-plus yards on first-and-10, more than half the required yardage on second down and all the necessary yardage on third and fourth down.
Kupp’s success rate during his All-Pro 2021 was 63.4 percent. In nine games in 2022, it was 62.2 percent. That plunged to 49.5 percent in 2023 and 47.0 percent in 2024.
Kupp averaged 4.0 yards after the catch per catch in 2024; his previous career low was 5.6. His 10.6 yards per catch matched his career low. He was targeted with 32 passes on third down. He caught 17 but for just seven first downs.
However, Kupp is still a sharp and savvy route runner. Of 84 receivers who were targeted at least 50 times last season, his 3.3 yards of average separation ranked 20th, according to Next Gen Stats.
He’s got excellent hands, which would improve a Packers receiver corps that led the NFL in drops. Kupp ranked 12th with a 2.9 percent drop rate (two drops), according to PFF. His career mark is 4.8 percent.
While he’s never had great speed and certainly doesn’t now, he caught 7-of-12 deep passes in 2024 and 7-of-13 in 2023, according to PFF. So, while he’s not Watson, he can provide a big-play element.
Kupp announced on Feb. 3 that he would be traded or released by the Rams. He said he was “as healthy as ever and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come.”
Kupp, who led the NFL with 145 receptions, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns during his historic 2021 season, remains a talented player. In 12 games, he caught 67 passes for 710 yards and six touchdowns. Had he been able to play in all 17 games, his pace would have resulted in 95 receptions for 1,006 yards and 8.5 touchdowns.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 2017, which was Kupp’s rookie season.
“He’s a big-time threat on third down, obviously, but on all downs, and I think he’s savvier than most people give him credit for in terms of after the catch,” LaFleur said before the Packers faced the Rams in 2021. “He is an elusive guy, he’s very slippery and you better know where he’s at on every play.”
