After being unable to find a trade, Rams release WR Cooper Kupp

Cooper Kupp’s time with the Los Angeles Rams is over.

The star wide receiver has been informed that he will be released, the team announced Wednesday. The Rams’ move came over a month after Kupp announced that Los Angeles was planning to trade him this offseason. 

“I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships,” Kupp wrote in a social media post on Feb. 3.

“I don’t agree with the decision and always believed (my career) was going to begin and end in LA,” Kupp added. “I have taken so much pride in playing alongside my teammates for the LA community, so thank you for embracing my family and making this such a special place for us.”

After his release, he said an emotional goodbye to the team and the city. 

Los Angeles’ decision to release Kupp came a couple of days after it was reported that it would cut him if he hadn’t been traded by the start of the new league year on Wednesday. The Rams already found their replacement for Kupp on Sunday, signing three-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to play alongside Puka Nacua and catch passes from Matthew Stafford.

The move to release Kupp will create $7.52 million in cap space for the Rams, according to Spotrac. 

Kupp, who’ll turn 32 in June, is coming off a 2024 season in which he hauled in 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns. He played in just 12 games as he dealt with ankle injuries. It was his third season in a row in which he appeared in 12 or fewer games. In 2023, he didn’t play until Week 5 because he was recovering from an ACL tear that he sustained in Week 10 of the 2022 season.  

Before those injuries, Kupp was arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. In 2021, he achieved the receiving triple crown, leading the NFL in receptions (145), yards (1,947) and touchdowns (16). He won Super Bowl LVI with the Rams that season, lifting them past the Cincinnati Bengals with seven catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns as he won Super Bowl MVP. 

While Kupp isn’t at his peak anymore, he becomes one of the top receivers available on the open market. As of Wednesday afternoon, other notable wide receivers who are free agents include Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper. 

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