WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Much like the team itself, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp dealt with his fair share of highs and lows throughout the 2024 season.
He entered last spring and summer fully healthy, able to focus on his craft rather the the rehab process for the first time since the 2021 offseason after a spring of 2023 spent rehabbing an ankle injury and a fall of 2023 hampered by a training camp hamstring injury. But in Week 2 against the Cardinals last September, he sustained a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for four games – just one week after putting up 14 catches for 110 yards and 1 touchdown in the Rams' season-opener against the Lions.
Upon returning in Week 7, he posted only two 100-yard games, although he hauled in at least one touchdown in four of his next seven games. However, after being targeted 8 times and posting 8 catches for 92 yards and 1 touchdown against the Bills, he was targeted only three times in each of Los Angeles' next three games. He was among the resting starters for the Rams' Week 18 regular season finale after they clinched the NFC West the week prior. Ultimately, he finished with 67 receptions for 710 yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games.
In the playoffs, he was targeted just once in the Rams' Wild Card win over the Vikings, recording one catch for 29 yards. Kupp then saw seven targets in their Divisional Round loss to the Eagles, recording 5 catches for 61 yards.
"Yeah, it's been frustrating," Kupp said Monday as Rams players cleaned out their lockers and began their offseason. "I mean, there's been obviously just as a team, there are ups and downs, there's all these things you're weathering through offensively. Things that I feel like we are gonna be like, 'Man, we should be better than the product we're putting out there in terms of the production and the points that are being scored. And then just, for me personally, feeling like, 'Man, there's things I'm watching film, feeling good about football and playing, but you know, production wise, it's not showing up.' A lot of that stuff is outside of my control and it is frustrating.
"But at the same time, we're finding ways along that stretch to win games, finding ways to come out of those games with W's, and even though it wasn't pretty a lot of times offensively, we got it done. So yeah, there's frustration there, and obviously, I want to be able to feel like I'm impacting games, and that's done on a much more discreet level for a lot of these games. And that is what it is, but I can look back on the season, be happy with what I put on tape and things that I was being asked to do, I was actually doing my job and that's all you can do."
Leading into the Divisional Round against the Eagles, quarterback Matthew Stafford last week said he and Kupp were watching the Rams' first game against the Eagles, "and he's open on another one and I get hit right as I'm throwing it too. He's like, 'It's kind of been the way it's gone.' Sometimes those things happen and he's an unbelievable teammate, a guy that sacrifices for our team in so many different ways." Stafford praised Kupp's selflessness and willingness to do whatever he can to help the team win.
Head coach Sean McVay last week said Kupp is "always a focal point" in the offense, it's just that sometimes the opposing defense's coverages dictate those opportunities. McVay also said the Rams took a different approach offensively once they went up 27-3 over the Vikings in that Wild Card game.
"The amount of passes that we threw just in general, and the types of passes and then we were in some different personnel groupings that limited the total snap count for our receivers in general, that did limit some of the opportunities as it relates to the Vikings game," McVay said.
McVay in late October confirmed teams had reached out to the Rams about the possibility of trading for Kupp, and that the team informed him. Given that speculation about his future, Kupp on Monday was asked by a reporter if he wants to be back with the Rams next year.
"Who knows what is going to happen?" Kupp said. "A lot of stuff is out of my control. We'll see (what) it's going to be. There was obviously stuff that was going on early in the season and we'll see. I don't have any clarity on what that's gonna look like. Obviously would love to be in L.A. but I don't know what that is gonna look like."
Kupp said he anticipates having a full, healthy offseason. He was also adamant he will be playing in 2025.
"Do I want to play next year? Oh yeah," he said, adding a laugh. "There's no doubt in my mind I want to play football. I feel like I've got a lot of good football left in me. I definitely will be playing — I will be playing football next year. That much I know."
