After eight successful seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, it looks as if veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp will soon be on his way out of LA. On Monday night, Kupp took to social media to announce that the team had informed him of their plans to trade him, likely to a destination where he can “continue competing for championships.”
Coming off of an Offensive Player of the Year campaign in which he had 1,947 receiving yards, the second-most in a single season in NFL history, Kupp was named Super Bowl LVI MVP, bringing the Rams their first championship since 2000, when the team was still in St. Louis. He'll eventually depart with the 4th-most receiving yards in Rams franchise history, while also ranking 3rd in both receptions and receiving touchdowns.
Since then, Kupp has missed a total of 18 regular season games due to injury, but he's remained productive when he has been on the field. At only 31 years old, it's possible that Kupp has a couple of good seasons left, particularly if he ends up playing for a team that A) Has a clear-cut need/role for him, and B) Is in the championship mix. So who are these teams that may end up inquiring for Cooper Kupp. Let's count them down from 8 to 1, from good fit to best fit, using all of the above criteria.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
Since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the conclusion of the 2021 season, the Steelers have been a bottom-ten passing offense in each of the three years that followed. This is largely due to instability at quarterback — and for what it's worth, we have no clue who the Steelers starting quarterback will be throughout the 2025 season — but it's also been because for a franchise that once seemed to find high quality receivers with regularity, their most productive wideout, George Pickens, has been volatile to say the least.
Cooper Kupp would certainly fill a need for the Steelers, and given the fact that we've yet to see Mike Tomlin finish a season with a losing record, Pittsburgh is at least tangentially in the championship picture. But with so much uncertainty at quarterback, it's hard to say that this is the best fit for Kupp.
7. Dallas Cowboys
New Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, quarterback Dak Prescott and All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb could all benefit from having another established weapon in a young and mostly unproven wide receivers room. How close Dallas is to contending for a Super Bowl is a question we can definitely spend a great deal of time debating, but what we will likely be able to agree on is that this would be a very Jerry Jones kind of move.
6. New England Patriots

As is the case with Dallas, how close New England is to a Super Bowl is up for debate, though how things went with Washington this season gives fans in Boston reason to believe that if you get the head coach and quarterback right, anything is possible. Drake Maye could be in line for a major year two jump, but the Pats lack an experienced or established #1 receiver for their second-year quarterback to lean on. And let's just be honest for a second, doesn't Cooper Kupp look like a Patriots receiver?
5. Buffalo Bills
The Bills made a win-now trade for a veteran receiver in the middle of the 2024 season, acquiring Amari Cooper for a pair of draft picks back in October. Unfortunately for the Bills, Cooper failed to find his footing in Buffalo, hauling in just 26 receptions for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns in 11 games, casting some doubt on a potential return next season. Perhaps a second attempt at acquiring a “Cooper” could be in Buffalo's future in they let Amari walk in free agency?
4. Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders built a Super Bowl contender in one offseason with the hiring of the right head coach, the selection of the right rookie quarterback, and the acquisitions of a handful of highly-respected veterans for the locker room to establish a culture of winning in D.C. Aside from Terry McLaurin, the Commanders don't necessarily have a reliable pass-catcher for Jayden Daniels to work with, and Kupp would be the right kind of veteran presence that would keep the Commanders marching in the right direction toward their first Super Bowl since the early-90s.
3. Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty to sort out with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins this offseason, so it's possible that adding Cooper Kupp isn't at the top of their priority list. But coming off of a season in which Joe Burrow led the league in both passing yards and touchdowns, it's easy to imagine Kupp having a major bounce back season if he ended up wearing the black and orange stripes of the Bengals next season. But surely, everyone in Cincinnati is hoping the Bengals find a way to keep Chase and Higgins in town for the long haul.
2. Houston Texans
Former Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nick Caley is the new offensive coordinator in Houston, and with both Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell having suffered major season-ending injuries, the Texans could turn to someone familiar with Caley to provide CJ Stroud with a secondary pass-catching option in addition to Nico Collins. Ultimately, this could depend on the timeline for return for both Diggs and Dell, and how much faith Houston has in youngsters John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson.
1. Los Angeles Chargers
This feels like a win-win-win for all parties that would make Michael Scott proud. The Rams get to send Kupp to the AFC. Kupp and his finally get to remain in Los Angeles. And the Chargers add a proven wide receiver to a pass-catching group that was led by rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey last season. McConkey has been drawing Kupp comparisons since he was at Georgia, so why not bring Kupp in and let McConkey spend time learning from the man himself?