Sean McVay repeats: Rams aren't trading Cooper Kupp
LOS ANGELES – Sean McVay doubled, then tripled down on his comments from Thursday night that the Rams weren’t expecting to trade star receiver Cooper Kupp.
“That’s not a move that we want to make,” he said Friday morning. Kupp had been the subject of trade inquiries from other teams throughout October ahead of the Nov. 5 deadline, as The Athletic reported Monday morning (and initially reported by NFL Network). In both Thursday and Friday news conferences, McVay confirmed those conversations about Kupp between the Rams and other teams took place, but said that the Rams are not proactively seeking out a trade.
“He’s a Ram, and we expect it to stay that way,” McVay added.
Kupp returned to the field in the Rams’ 30-20 win against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night from an ankle injury suffered in Week 2. He had five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown, and drew two pass interference penalties that proved costly for the Vikings. Kupp’s return also helps activate the Rams’ run game as a blocker and motion player.
“I thought Cooper played really well last night,” McVay said. “I thought some of the things that weren’t impacted on the stat sheet were big — fighting back to the ball to get PIs. … He’s such a tough player, he’s such a great leader for us. He’s all the things that are right about the Rams. I love Cooper Kupp and I’m glad he’s on this team.”
Required reading Rams wins hard to come by this season, but this one meant something Refs say they couldn’t see face-mask penalty late in Vikings-Rams game(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
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Jourdan Rodrigue is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Rams. Previously, she covered the Carolina Panthers for The Athletic and The Charlotte Observer, and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times. She is an ASU grad, a recipient of the PFWA's Terez A. Paylor Emerging Writer award (2021) and the creator of "The Playcallers" and "Finding Rams" series. Follow Jourdan on Twitter @JourdanRodrigue
