Does Cooper Kupp's Troubling Trend Indicate Rams Trade is Coming?

Could the Los Angeles Rams be preparing to trade wide receiver Cooper Kupp?
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) practices before the NFC wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) practices before the NFC wild card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Rams dismantled the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 27-9 in their Wild Card Round playoff matchup on Monday night, continuing their run as one of the NFL's hottest teams.

But in the midst of the Rams' win, something very peculiar occurred: Cooper Kupp's playing time was very limited.

Kupp only participated in 55 percent of Los Angeles' offensive snaps against the Vikings, which was actually third among the team's wide receivers.

Not surprisingly, Puka Nacua led the way at 85 percent, but Demarcus Robinson came in second at 72 percent. It seems very odd that Robinson played more snaps than Kupp in a playoff game, but nevertheless, it happened, and Kupp managed just one catch on the night.

It's also part of a rather troubling (if that's the right word) trend that has occurred in recent weeks where Kupp's targets have declined considerably.

The 31-year-old was targeted three times in each of his final three regular-season appearances (he did not play in Week 18). By contrast, he wasn't targeted any less than six times in any of his first nine contests of the year. He achieved double-digit targets four times.

Could this mean that the Rams are slowly phasing Kupp out to prepare for a trade in the offseason?

While Kupp was still easily Los Angeles' second-most productive receiver behind Nacua this season, he is getting older, he is injury-prone and he is under contract through 2026 on a pretty hefty salary.

Robinson is an impending free agent, but the Rams could ultimately re-sign Robinson and trade Kupp for some draft capital in the coming months.

Obviously, this is just conjecture, but it makes sense based on the direction things have been going over the last month.

Los Angeles managed to score 27 points without any significant contribution from Kupp in its first playoff game, so the Rams could be realizing that the veteran is replaceable.

There should be numerous wide receiver trade options available for Los Angeles this offseason, too, so the Rams could be preparing to search for an upgrade.

Unless Kupp is playing through an undisclosed injury, there really is no other reason to explain his sudden dip in playing time and production.

Perhaps Los Angeles is planning a big move.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.