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Pat McAfee cold calls Bills GM Brandon Beane to weigh in on Cooper Kupp trade rumors

Cooper Kupp is reportedly on the trade block, and Pat McAfee called Buffalo Bills general manager while live on air to discuss the rumors.

Kyle Silagyi

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The trade winds are swirling as the NFL nears its November 5 trade deadline, as another upper-echelon wide receiver has reportedly hit the block.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Rams are open to trading former NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp. The 31-year-old former Super Bowl MVP, who has caught 585 passes for 7,213 yards and 52 touchdowns throughout his eight-year professional career, has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury; with the Rams sitting at 2-4 on the season, the team is open to moving the veteran in hopes of recouping some draft capital.

Related: Dominant Week 7 win propels Bills up ESPN's NFL Power Rankings

Cupp, should he ultimately be dealt, would be the third elite pass-catcher traded this season in what has been an abnormally active trade market. Multi-time All-Pro Davante Adams was traded to the New York Jets last week just hours before the Buffalo Bills acquired five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, with Cupp having the potential to be as impactful an addition as either of those players for whichever team ultimately acquires him.

News of Cupp’s availability broke while The Pat McAfee Show was live on YouTube, with the panel floating Buffalo as a potential destination despite their recent acquisition of Cooper. A Pulitzer-worthy journalist, McAfee took matters into his own hands and called Bills general manager Brandon Beane to weigh in on the rumors while live on the air. You can watch the humorous clip below:

A frequent guest on McAfee’s show, Beane has a strong rapport with the former punter and, thus, didn’t seem too upset about the cold call; the show was also muted while their conversation was taking place. The host did not ask the executive about his potential interest in Cupp, but instead asked about how rumors such as these typically surface.

“Just talked to sources at the general manager level around the NFL that said normally, or sometimes, whenever it says that teams have been calling or it’s being shopped or whatever, if it’s a team calling thing, maybe it is from the team saying like, ‘Hey, we don’t have anybody calling, but is available, but inside the building, don’t want to deal with being the ones that are doing the shopping,’” McAfee said after hanging up from Beane. “You never know. He said there are so many different ways that this could go. Could’ve been an agent saying, ‘Hey, teams are calling for Cooper Kupp,’ not saying in this particular situation, he’s just saying in general it is. Normally anytime something is fed to multiple sources like this, it’s certainly a, ‘Hey oh, how are you doing, keep it moving.’”

Buffalo does not seem like a realistic landing spot for Cupp despite the receiver’s (apparent) fandom; he has a $15 million base salary this season, and the Bills currently have just north of $2.5 million in available salary cap space. The team already appears to have taken its swing at receiver in Cooper, and after the wideout’s four-catch, 66-yard debut, pass-catcher doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming need for Buffalo at this particular juncture. Beane has stated that he’s not opposed to making another trade between now and the trade deadline, but a potential Cupp acquisition does not seem overly realistic.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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