On Wednesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero broke the news on X.com that the Rams have officially informed Cooper Kupp that he was being released, officially making the former Super Bowl MVP a free agent, available to be signed by any team in the NFL.
This news comes just one day after Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald reported that Kupp was “curious about the prospect of playing in New England and has shared that curiosity with some close to him.”
Callahan went on to say that Kupp has both personal and professional ties to members of the organization, having been a college teammate of Kendrick Bourne at Eastern Washington and having played for new Patriots passing game coordinator/tight ends coach Thomas Brown during Brown’s time working on Sean McVay’s staff in Los Angeles (2020-22).
Numerous columns have been written on WEEI.com this offseason about the merits of adding Kupp to this depleted offense. For a wide receiver room lacking a true No. 1 or No. 2 option for 22-year-old quarterback Drake Maye as he heads into his sophomore season, the addition of a former All-Pro with gas left in the tank feels like a no-brainer. Even if it’s only for one or two seasons, Maye-to-Kupp could amount to invaluable reps for the future of the franchise as he continues his development early in his career.
Sure, New England did reportedly sign former Bills depth piece Mack Hollins as a pass catcher for Maye on Monday. But it’s going to take a lot more than a guy who has only twice caught more than 18 balls in a season during his seven-year career to get this offense to the next level under old-but-new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
The Pats could-and-should want Kupp, but would he actually sign here?
WEEI’s Adam Jones and Rich Keefe both remain skeptical, and believe the reasoning behind his exit from Los Angeles can’t be discounted.
“I have a bad feeling about this one,” said Keefe. “I really want Cooper Kupp. I understand he’s not the most durable player. He’s one of those guys that when he’s out there he’s still really good and really, really productive. But when he’s not, he’s just out, and it’s like, ‘How many games is he gonna play?’ You don’t know. So that’s tough if he’s your true No. 1 guy.
“I just wonder - the Rams said, ‘We don’t want him.’ Which has gotta be a tough blow to him. It may be a red flag.”
“I would underscore that for a moment,” said Jones. “The Rams don’t want him, and they signed Davante Adams at basically the money they owed him. So they look at Davante Adams, who’s older than Kupp, but he’s been a lot healthier, more durable than Kupp. And they say, ‘This is an upgrade.’ So when it comes to Coop Kupp, that is a massive red flag. The team that knows him was gonna throw the same money at an older player.”
“But also, I think what is smart - if you’re a wide receiver that’s available right now, you should probably say you’re interested in the Patriots, just to see what kind of offer could get out there,” said Keefe. “The Patriots still have a lot of cap space. They clearly have a need at that position, and so maybe it would work out for you in a similar way as it did to Chris Godwin.
“Not that he’s gonna stay with his team, but maybe somebody’s like, ‘Oh, well the Patriots are involved, so maybe they’re gonna offer two [years] at $34 [million], two [years] at $36 [million], then it seems like we’ll offer the same thing, hopefully he chooses us, we have a better team, we have a better quarterback, we have a better future for 2025.’ Because Kupp’s probably not gonna play a whole lot longer. He’s gonna be 32 for the upcoming season. He’s dealing with all these different injuries. The last year he was truly great was 2021. So he’s not a perfect player, but when you consider what the Patriots have done so far offensively, which is Mack Hollins and Morgan Moses, I don’t have a lot of faith that they get Cooper Kupp.”
“If it’s not Cooper Kupp, who is it?” asked Jones. “Like, what’s left?”
At the time of publishing, here’s a list of the remaining top wide receivers available in free agency:
- Nelson Agholor, Baltimore Ravens (31 years old)
- Keenan Allen, Chicago Bears (32 years old)
- Odell Beckham, Miami Dolphins (32 years old)
- Tyler Boyd, Tennessee Titans (30 years old)
- Noah Brown, Washington Commanders (29 years old)
- DeAndre Carter, Chicago Bears (31 years old)
- D.J. Chark, Los Angeles Chargers (28 years old)
- Chris Conley, San Francisco 49ers (32 years old)
- Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys (31 years old)
- Amari Cooper, Buffalo Bills (30 years old)
- Jamison Crowder, Washington Commanders (31 years old)
- Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans (31 years old)
- Greg Dortch, Arizona Cardinals (26 years old)
- Devin Duvernay, Jacksonville Jaguars (27 years old)
- Michael Gallup, Las Vegas Raiders (29 years old)
- Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs (27 years old)
- Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Denver Broncos (26 years old)
- Diontae Johnson, Baltimore Ravens (28 years old)
- Tyler Johnson, Los Angeles Rams (26 years old)
- Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (31 years old)
- Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks (32 years old)
- Scotty Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers (27 years old)
- Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns (24 years old)
- Rondale Moore, Atlanta Falcons (24 years old)
- Gunner Olszewski, New York Giants (28 years old)
- K.J. Osborn, Washington Commanders (27 years old)
- Zach Pascal, Arizona Cardinals (30 years old)
- Tim Patrick, Detroit Lions (31 years old)
- Brandon Powell, Minnesota Vikings (29 years old)
- Josh Reynolds, Jacksonville Jaguars (30 years old)
- Allen Robinson, Detroit Lions (31 years old)
- Trent Sherfield, Denver Broncos (29 years old)
- Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32 years old)
- Steven Sims, Baltimore Ravens (27 years old)
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs (28 years old)
- Kadarius Toney, Cleveland Browns (26 years old)
- Mike Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers (30 years old)
- Robert Woods, Houston Texans (32 years old)
- Olamide Zaccheaus, Washington Commanders (27 years old)
Long list, I know. And I know there’s names I’m missing.
But this is to show that outside of a few household names, you’re looking at a hodgepodge of dudes that have been cut by your fantasy team, familiar faces to New England fans for the wrong reasons, or guys well-past their prime looking for one last gasp of breath in the NFL before calling it a career.
Outside of Kupp and maybe a few others, that No. 1 and/or 2 receiver may need to be acquired via trade by the Patriots.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.