In the wake of the Dallas Mavericks trading away Luka Doncic to the hated Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, I’m not sure any trade news would shock us.
The Los Angeles Rams tried to do just that on Monday, announcing that they will be actively trying to trade away star WR Cooper Kupp, who has been with the team since 2017.
There are several teams in the league who would welcome the skillset and production that Kupp can bring to the table. Can the Cowboys be one of those teams? Let’s talk about it.
What Are the Rams Thinking?
This is most likely a salary dump for the Rams here, coupled with the fact that Cooper Kupp is no longer the wide receiver who caught 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns a few short years ago.
Those days are over for Kupp, and even though he is still an above average wide receiver in the NFL, the Rams appear ready to move on with Puka Nacua as their top weapon for a returning Matthew Stafford.
Kupp missed three games in 2024, but even when healthy, he looked a step slower than the player we are used to seeing in the yellow/blue/white #10 jersey.
Since Cooper Kupp won NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors after his stellar 2021 season, he has missed 18 of a possible 51 regular season games in the three years since. That may be where the Rams’ logic lies in trying to trade him.
I imagine a player the caliber of Kupp will help the Rams find a trading partner, but his contract would be the blocker for any team. He is due $29.78 million in 2025 and another $27.33 million in 2026 before hitting restricted free agency in 2027.
The Rams would need to eat some of his salary, or the team trading for him would need to restructure his contract to make his cap hit more palatable.
How Does He Fit With the Cowboys?
For a player like Cooper Kupp, you make him fit. HC Brian Schottenheimer was asked about his offense and personnel, and he said something along the lines that the Cowboys would fit their scheme to the players.
Those are welcome words to my ears. It always baffled me that the Cowboys got this reputation for forcing players to fit their scheme. When it wasn’t working, anybody with eyes could see what was wrong, but not much ever got done about it.
The Cowboys are in desperate need of a premier running mate for WR CeeDee Lamb. He constantly attracts double-teams because there is nobody else on the field who can threaten the defense.
Adding a player like Kupp to the offense would open up a part of the playbook that Schottenheimer and new OC Klayton Adams currently have sealed.
Kupp, like Lamb, is one of the most lethal players out of the slot. Imagine the Cowboys spreading out the defense with four wide receivers and both CeeDee and Kupp lining up in the slot.
Linebackers and safeties wouldn’t know what to do.
Would the Cowboys Actually Pull the Trigger?
The million dollar question is, would the Cowboys actually make the move and pull the trigger for a player like Cooper Kupp?
Personally, I’m not getting my hopes up, but there is always the possibility that the Cowboys are genuine in their comments about making a change because the way they’ve been doing things hasn’t been working.
From a financial standpoint, it doesn’t make much sense for the Cowboys to have another wide receiver getting paid over $27 million per season. Not because I don’t think they could make the salary cap work, but because of Kupp’s recent track record.
He’s missed 1/3 of the games over the past three seasons, and is on the wrong side of 30. It’s just not a move I can see the Cowboys making unless the salary is greatly reduced, and they don’t have to spend more than a 4th round pick in exchange.
However, investing in a player who is near to over the hill and his best production is behind him is something the Cowboys have done before. Maybe they surprise us.