KUPP’S DEPARTURE: How the Rams Made the Impossible Decision to Move on From Their Star Wideout

It was shocking to hear the Rams were not moving on from franchise legend Cooper Kupp, they also made no attempt to keep him. Sean McVay spoke about that decision at the NFL Owners meeting.

“I don’t, you don’t want it to sound like it’s that cut and dry, but I think at the end of the day, he’s meant so much, felt like it was a little bit different in terms of the direction that we were going to go with that receiver room.” said McVay. “I think it does provide a great opportunity to be able to see Puka Nakua continue to ascend.”

The Rams needed a new dynamic in the receiver room, and Kupp was too similar to Nacua. The NFL is a business, and business moves had to be made. Kupp was too inconsistent, too injury-prone, and he wasn’t reliable enough down the stretch.

“He learned so much from Cooper over these last couple years, but now there’s always been that respectful deference. Now you get a chance to be able to continue to learn from Davante Adams, while continuing to take that next step,” McVay said.

“We had an intention of re-signing Tutu [Atwell] and so when you’re just looking at, you know, what are the plans for your receiver room? It was going to be a challenging fit moving forward. And with respect to him, I think he is going to get a better opportunity to to shine, whether that was outside or obviously, with Seattle. I’m glad it worked out for him.”

This is the new reality of the Rams This is McVay’s time. If he continues to impress with Nacua as his WR1, we could be discussing all-time great/potential G.O.A.T. status.

Of course, he needs to add several more rings, but if McVay pulls off a seamless transition of an offensive superstar after seamlessly transitioning from Aaron Donald, that would be something McVay could hold over the league forever.

McVay has his reasons, and it’s clear he has a plan. For Kupp, it was time for him to learn the NFL is a cruel, cutthroat business. Considering they will play each other twice next season, the newest chapter of the Kupp-Rams saga enters its most drama-filled chapter: life after divorce.