Fallout of Cooper Kupp news: 'The team will be seeking a trade immediately.'

If you wondered whether the LA Rams were willing to take a back seat in the Los Angeles, California sports scene, think again. The dust has not even settled on the NBA blockbuster trade that sent former Los Angeles Lakers C Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Mavericks PG Luka Doncic, then the sports headlines fill the national media once more.

And we still haven't resolved who did their blockbuster trade better - the Rams or the Lakers.

I was blindsided by today's developments. Rams All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been the topic of some smoldering NFL rumors that he would be traded before the 2025 NFL season. Even responses by Rams HC Sean McVay indicated that there was a story to be shared soon about the future of both veteran QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp.

Matthew Stafford has cleared the air, indicating that he wants to return in 2025. But that is by no means a slam dunk just yet. The team must meet Stafford's price, and that is never an easy agreement with a player on the decline.

With the latest news, I suspect those contract negotiations with Matthew Stafford have become far more complex:

Can there truly be a successful Matthew Stafford without Cooper Kupp on the football field. Well, buckle up, as we are about to find out.

Some fallout from trade news of Cooper Kupp

The team shocked me with this one. Due to the salary cap implications, I thought that the team might settle to rework Kupp's contract to lower the hit in 2025, and push dollars into the future. But with today's news from the player himself, it's no longer a matter of speculation. With the public announce of the team seeking an 'immediate' trade, there is plenty of fallout to consider. What are those matters?

Financial impact:

Cooper Kupp is due to consume nearly $30 million from the team's 2025 salary cap allocation. That comes with a $22.5 million salary cap hit in dead money to the team this season. If the team successfully finds a trading partner, that lowers Kupp's cap hit to $17.26 million. If the team designates this trade as a post-June-1 trade, that saves the team $20 million against the 2025 salary cap. So yes, there is a financial incentive for the team to take action. Even if the team is forced to outright release Kupp, they can still save $12.5 million against their salary cap this year.

Who will trade for Kupp?

Clearly, the public announcement about his imminent trade is not a good sign for either the player or the team. If the team was actively negotiating a trade to send Cooper Kupp elsewhere, the details of Kupp's availability would not be public knowledge. No team shares that level of detailed information because deals can fall through at the last minute.

The cost to any acquiring team for Kupp is not the cost to the Rams. Any team that trades for Cooper Kupp will be on the hook for his salary, any relevant roster bonuses, and incentive bonuses. In the case of Cooper Kupp for 2025, that works out to $20 million. In 2026, that falls to $19.85 million. While those are his current contract terms, there is no restriction to any new team to renegotiate his contract with new terms.

As far as which teams will trade for Cooper Kupp, I expect that several teams eager to compete for an NFL Playoff berth in 2025, with a solid quarterback, but with an opportunity to benefit from a high character guy in the locker room should pick up the phone and start the preliminary work to acquire Kupp.

What does this mean for the Rams roster?

The LA Rams were already facing the loss of WRs Tutu Atwell, Demarcus Robinson, and Tyler Johnson to expiring contracts. Losing Cooper Kupp to either a trade or to an outright release means wholesale changes to this offense. Change is neither good or bad. It's simply different. The team will need to fast-track second-year WR Jordan Whittington to be prepared to fill the void.

But the loss of four wide receivers in this offense means the Rams front office will need to do a lot better in the offseason than selecting a rookie late on Day 3 of the NFL Draft.

Does this urgency to create cap space now have ulterior motives for the LA Rams roster? The plot thickens . . .

As always, thanks for reading.

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