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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
The Denver Broncos had exactly one very good-to-great wide receiver in 2024.
Courtland Sutton put up the second 1,000-yard receiving season of his career and first for the franchise since he did it in 2019. That he did so on the way to helping lead the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season — and did so while catching passes from a rookie quarterback — made it all even more impressive.
Now imagine what Bo Nix and Sutton could do with another elite pass catcher?
It just so happens there’s one who just went on the market.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver and former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp took to social media to announce the Rams were looking to trade him.
“… 2024 began with one of the best training camps of my career,” Kupp wrote on his official X account on February 3. “Preparations start now for 2025. Highly motivated, as healthy as ever, and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come.”
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pitched the Broncos as a possible landing spot for Kupp in 2025.
“Denver, with head coach Sean Payton, is the perfect scheme fit (for Kupp),” Orlovsky said on February 4.
Issue 1 With Kupp: His Terrible Contract
After a season-ending playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Kupp addressed what his future might hold.
“Who knows what’s going to happen,” Kupp told ESPN’s Sarah Barshop on January 20. “That’s out of my control. And we will see what it’s going to be. … I don’t have any clarity on what that’s going to look like or anything like that. So yeah, obviously would love to be in L.A., but I don’t know what that’s going to look like.”
The biggest problem with obtaining Kupp in a trade is his terrible contract.
Kupp signed a 3-year, $80.1 million contract extension in June 2022 that has 2 years remaining on it. He’s due a base salary of $12.5 million and a roster bonus of $7.5 million in 2025 with a cap hit of $29.78 million and a dead cap hit of $22.26 million.
That’s just not the type of money you pay for a player who only had 67 receptions for 610 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games in 2024.
Kupp hasn’t had over 1,000 receiving yards since 2021, when he won the NFL’s receiving Triple Crown with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns and ended the year by being named Super Bowl MVP.
Issue 2 With Kupp: He’s Always Hurt
Since Kupp is scheduled to make $20 million in 2025, there’s also a chance he could be released — which would still cost the Rams $5 million to pay Kupp.
The better move might be to work with a team on the Rams taking on part of his salary and the team he’s traded to — maybe the Broncos — taking on the rest.
The biggest problem with Kupp, 31 years old, is that he’s been hurt almost constantly since that brilliant season in 2021.
In 2022, Kupp missed 8 games with a high ankle sprain which ended up requiring tightrope surgery. In 2023, he missed 4 games to start the season with a hamstring issue. In 2024, Kupp missed 5 games after suffering another high ankle sprain.
Kupp also tore his ACL and missed the final 6 games of the 2018 season.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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