Cooper Kupp shocked the football world when he announced that the Los Angeles Rams were planning on trading him ‘immediately.’ On Thursday morning it was reported that the team would not seek to re-sign the speedy receiver Tutu Atwell.
Furthermore, the fate of two more pass catchers, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and tight end Tyler Higbee, are up in the air. Robinson is an unrestricted free agent and Higbee has been floated as a cap casualty candidate. At the very least, Higbee’s bloated contract will be a top conversation in the offseason, as the 31-year-old coming off major knee surgery is an $8.7 million cap hit and is entering the final year of his deal.
Current State Of The Los Angeles Rams WR Room
Depending on how all of this shakes out, Puka Nacua may be left looking like Will Smith standing alone in an empty Fresh Prince living room.
As it stands now the Rams have four wide receivers under contract; Nacua, 2024 rookie Jordan Whittington, and Xavier Smith — Hardly the dominant group it looked like just 12 months ago.
The Rams are certainly in a transition period. They are coming off a year in which they fielded the most expensive offense in the league, which finished the year 15th in offensive EPA per play — far from the expectation of the expenditure. In fact, a reason that has been reported for the decision to move on from Kupp was that his contract was not commensurate with their expectations of his production.
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A look at the most successful teams from recent years shows the importance of building a diverse and talent-laden receiver room. The Philadelphia Eagles have DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown, and Dallas Goedert. After losing Rashee Rice, the Kansas City Chiefs made a priority of finding bodies to add to the room, to pair with future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce.
The Rams have a lot of work to do to get their offense to that level. Picking at 26th in the upcoming draft, won’t guarantee a new star at wide receiver (although tight end may) and the free agent market is sparse which will inevitably drive the cost up for those players.
What does the Los Angeles Rams future hold? A lot of work to get this offense to a championship level.