LOS ANGELES — As Sean McVay addressed the future of several key members of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense during his end of season press conference, the head coach said the team’s leadership group had to sit down and figure out what “the best thing for the Rams football team [is] moving into 2025.”
The first domino to fall happened on Monday, when receiver Cooper Kupp announced that he had been informed by the team that they “will be seeking a trade immediately.” (The trade could be agreed to at any time, but the trade cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 12.)
The Rams have four receivers currently under contract for the 2025 season: Kupp, 31, 2023 fifth-round pick Puka Nacua, 2024 sixth-round pick Jordan Whittington and 2023 undrafted free agent Xavier Smith.
If the Rams trade Kupp — the most likely scenario at this point — they will have to retool a receivers room for an offense that played in 11 personnel 81.3% of the time during the 2024 regular season, second only to the Atlanta Falcons.
When healthy last season, the Rams started Nacua, Kupp and veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson. Robinson played on a one-year, $4 million deal in 2024 and will be a free agent when the league year starts in March. The Rams could re-sign him, giving them depth at the position with a player familiar with the offense. He had 31 catches for a career-high 505 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2024.
Wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who will also hit free agency, is unlikely to return after four seasons in Los Angeles. He had 42 catches for 562 yards, playing nearly 39% of offensive snaps for the Rams in 2024.
This is an offense that has the potential to look very different in 2025, even beyond Kupp. Quarterback Matthew Stafford said after the season that he will take his time to figure out his future, but said feels he has a lot of good football left. However, if he returns to Los Angeles — he is under contract through the 2026 season — it would likely be on an adjusted contract.
Right tackle Rob Havenstein — who was drafted by the team in 2015 — has one year left on his deal but has no guaranteed money remaining. Tight end Tyler Higbee, who missed most of the 2024 season with a torn ACL and MCL, has one year remaining on his deal with a base salary of $4.5 million but just $2 million of it guaranteed.
When asked what he wants to see from the offense next season — a unit that struggled to find consistency in 2024 — McVay said he wants to see “a little bit more versatility.”
“The easy answer is to complain about the injuries that we had that threw off the continuity and while that might be true, you can’t allow that to inhibit us the way that it did,” McVay said. “That’s nobody’s responsibility but my own. I think more fully functional. I think even our teaching progressions for the totality of the group. How do you utilize the offseason and how are you making yourself more versatile from a personnel perspective or from a run variety perspective? Those are the things that I’m excited to be able to dive into.”
Los Angeles does have some money to spend if needed to find that versatility in personnel in free agency. The Rams have more than $38 million in cap space for the 2025 season according to Over The Cap, without taking into account any money saved from trading Kupp. Los Angeles would save $12.5 million if it traded Kupp before June 1.
But while there are several big-name wide receivers available in free agency, including Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin, it seems unlikely Los Angeles would be willing to spend the money needed to sign either player.
The Rams have their star receiver in Nacua. He is eligible for a contract extension after the 2025 season. Although he missed five games due to injury and one to rest in 2024, Nacua has averaged 88.4 receiving yards per game over the first two years of his career.
Ultimately, while the Rams may have decided they don’t think it’s in the best interest of the team to keep Kupp on the roster with a cap hit of nearly $29.8 million, McVay has made it clear what the receiver has meant to him and the organization, and the big hole that will need filling.
“Cooper has changed my life for the better,” McVay said. “He’s made an impact on me, most importantly, as a person. What he’s done as a player is incredibly amazing in regard to the production but also he’s been so important in terms of a lot of the things that we’ve been able to build with what he represents as a captain.
“…He has good football left. He wants to play for a handful more years. …I thought he did a good job with the things that he could control. For that, I’m really proud of him.”