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Former Oklahoma WR Drake Stoops Waived by Los Angeles Rams

The Sooners' team captain and leading receiver in 2023 joined the club in April as an undrafted free agent, but didn't survive Tuesday's roster cut down.

John E. Hoover

Los Angeles Rams WR Drake Stoops
Los Angeles Rams WR Drake Stoops / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Drake Stoops’ NFL dream hit a snag on Tuesday.

Stoops, son of former Oklahoma coaching legend Bob Stoops and the Sooners’ leading receiver in 2023, was among 18 players waived by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday as NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 53.

Stoops, who played six seasons for the Sooners, was signed by the Rams immediately after going undrafted in April and spent the summer with the team, participating in rookie camps, OTAs and the three-game preseason.

After a stellar high school career at Norman North, Stoops played in 62 games for the Crimson and Cream, including 31 career starts.

He finished his college career with 164 receptions, 1,876 yards, 17 touchdowns — and was from day one a fan favorite, eliciting fan chants of “STOOOOOPS” after every catch.

He landed first-team All-Big 12 offers last season, leading the Sooners with 84 receptions for 962 yards and 10 TDs. He was also a finalist for the Brandon Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation’s college football player who began his career as a walk-on. He also earned Academic All-Big 12 accolades all six years of his OU career.

Stoops still can land a contract with other NFL teams. He can also re-sign with the Rams’ practice squad if he isn’t picked up off waivers by another team.  

Stoops caught passes from nine different quarterbacks at Oklahoma:

As a true freshman in 2018, he played in two games and caught passes from Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. In 2019, Stoops played in all 14 games and caught passes from Heisman runner-up Jalen Hurts and backup Tanner Mordecai. In 2020, he made seven starts and caught passes from Spencer Rattler and backup Austin Kendall. In 2021, Stoops played in 10 games and caught passes from Rattler and 2022 eventual Heisman winner Caleb Williams. In 2022, he was a semifinalist for the “academic Heisman” and caught passes from this year’s Heisman frontrunner, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel and backup Davis Beville. And in 2023, Stoops caught passes from Gabriel and this year’s Oklahoma starter, Jackson Arnold.

If he’s unable to land a deal with the NFL, he has the option to continue playing in the UFL, where his dad’s team, the Arlington Renegades, drafted him this summer with their 10th-round pick.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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