On Monday, stud wide receiver Cooper Kupp informed the NFL world that the Rams will be trading him, and the fit makes sense with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos are finally in a position to be making these types of moves. They hit on a rookie QB and now have a cost-controlled passer for years.
The window is open, and when it's open, you add good players. An NFL team can't always just build through the NFL Draft. That simply isn't sustainable. Yes, a team does need to figure out the most important positions through the NFL Draft, but free agency and trades exist for a reason.
Look at the two Super Bowl teams remaining - they have several key players that were brought in via trade or free agency. It's a good thought to argue that the Broncos should not make this move to save their draft picks, but they need immediate production on offense. Cooper Kupp was once the triple-crown winner in 2021.
The Broncos have a great reason to trade for Cooper Kupp
He led the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He's a Super Bowl MVP and one of the best WRs of the 2010s-2020s, period.
Well, Kupp has struggled to stay on the field in recent years, and with his contract still being a bit bloated, the Los Angeles Rams want to move on. Cooper Kupp has played in 33 games across the 2022-2024 seasons.
Despite missing 18 reglar season games, he has still been able to haul in 201 receptions for 2,259 yards and 17 touchdowns. Across a 17-game season, that comes out to 104 receptions, 1,164 yards, and nine touchdowns.
That's the type of production that Kupp has been able to bring when on the field from 2022-2024. That is significant. And when you look at just how good the Denver Broncos training/recovery staff is in terms of managing and preventing injury, the fit makes sense.
Denver has been among the least-injured teams in the NFL since Sean Payton took over. Part of that could be due to the new strength/training/recovery staff that Payton brought it, and it could also be because the veteran head coach does like physical practices. Cooper Kupp could benefit to come to a place like Denver where the staff simply know what they are doing when it comes to injuries.
He's played in 12 regular season games in each of the last two seasons. It would not be a stretch to think that the training staff could get him on the field for two more games in 2025. He's also averaged 5.3 receptions per game and 60.3 yards per game across the prior two seasons.
This is still a very productive wide receiver in the NFL. The Denver Broncos have the ability to keep their players on the field and the ability to avoid mounting injuries. This gives them every single reason to trade for Cooper Kupp.