Jaguars Were Wise Not to Enter Cooper Kupp Sweepstakes

The Jacksonville Jaguars were smart not to go after new Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II (23) is stiff armed by Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) as he works to bring him down along the sideline Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, during a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Jenna Watson/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Once the Los Angeles Rams released wide receiver Cooper Kupp this week, it was clear he had a healthy market of suitors.

Eventually, the former Triple Crown winner ended up with the Seattle Seahawks on a three-year, $45 million deal that ensures he is staying on the west coast for the next stage of his career.

Several teams that were in the running for Kupp likely walked away from this weekend with a sense of disappointment in being unable to land the former Super Bowl champion. But when considering the deal Kupp got and the context around the Jaguars' offense, Kupp would have been fool's gold for Lawrence.

When the Jaguars traded Christian Kirk and Evan Engram, many fans latched onto Kupp's name as a potential addition. Getting rid of two big-name pass-catchers means the team must go after another big name to replace them, right?

In this case, not quite. There is no doubting that Kupp would have made a ton of sense as a culture builder in the Jaguars' locker room and as a slot receiver in the new offensive scheme, but Kupp's production and durability have both fallen off a cliff in the last three seasons.

The Jaguars are not a Kupp-level player away from becoming contenders. In fact, there is a real chance they can find a slot receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft who can provide a lot of what Kupp provides in his current form, all while doing it at a lower price.

Kupp was a great receiver a few years ago. Now, he is clearly trending in the opposite direction the Jaguars are trying to build toward.

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone touched on the idea of Kupp earlier this week, but it was clear even then the Jaguars were not set to seriously consider Kupp as a piece of their offseason -- even with the duo's shared history, as well as Kupp's history with head coach Liam Coen.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for Cooper. He was actually in the first draft that I ever had the chance to be a part of and throughout the course of his career in Los Angeles, he is one of the purist-to-form wide receivers, change the dynamic for what's actually asked of those guys in modern football," Gladstone said on Thursday.

"I think at this point in time, it's fair to say, in pro-free agency, we're always open to every opportunity that presents itself, but time will truly tell.”

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