Kendrick Bourne Recruits Cooper Kupp to Patriots Amid WR's Uncertain Rams Future

The Los Angeles Rams could save some serious money by releasing veteran wideout Cooper Kupp this offseason, and given that trade rumors involving him circulated during the 2024 season, his future with the Rams is somewhat up in the air.

So New England Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne saw an opportunity to recruit him to Foxboro:

Kupp told reporters Monday that he'll continue his career into the 2025 season and feels as though he's "got a lot of good football left in me," but acknowledged that his future may not be with the Rams.

"Who knows what's going to happen?" he said. "That's out of my control. And we will see what it's going to be. ... I don't have any clarity on what that's going to look like or anything like that. So yeah, obviously would love to be in L.A., but I don't know what that's going to look like."

Kupp, 31, has a $29.7 million cap hit in 2025 under his current deal with the Rams and a $27.3 million cap hit in 2026. By cutting him, the Rams would save $15 million in cash and $7.5 million against the cap (and if he was a post-June 1 cut, they'd carry $22.2 million in dead cap).

The veteran wideout was once one of the game's elite wideouts and Matthew Stafford's top target, but he caught just 67 passes for 710 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games this season. Health remains a concern for Kupp—he's missed 18 games in the past three seasons—and even when he's available, Puka Nacua (79 catches for 990 yards and three scores in 11 games) has clearly emerged as the top option in the Rams' passing attack.

Between his significant cap hit and Nacua's emergence, the Rams could ultimately deem Kupp expendable.

The Patriots, meanwhile, could desperately use some playmakers for promising young quarterback Drake Maye. The Rams may not move on from Kupp, but if they do, New England would make sense as a potential suitor.