“You don’t get rid of guys like that” - Kurt Warner sounds off on Rams potentially parting ways with Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford
Releasing Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp would be a mistake for the Rams, according to one of their iconic ex-quarterbacks.
Kurt Warner, who guided the franchise to two Super Bowl appearances when they were in St Louis, told London radio station talkSPORT what message releasing those two offensive weapons would send.
If you want to win as a team, then you don’t get rid of guys like that.
Earlier this week, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic believed that the club intended to trade Cooper Kupp, who has only played 33 regular season games since September 2022. Meanwhile, the 37-year-old Stafford has no guaranteed money remaining on his Rams contract.
If the Rams can make a deal for Kupp, they’ll be able to save $20 million according to ESPN.
That’s a trade that Warner would not support.
I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA, he said of a potential Kupp trade.
Warner guided the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory in the 1999 season and was named MVP of the big game. Warner was their star pivot in the late 90s and early 2000s, with Isaac Bruce as his primary threat down the field.
Cooper Kupp was the Super Bowl MVP in the 2021 season and the Offensive Player of the Year.
Only room for one between Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford?
If we are to believe most of the reports, it seems as though Warner may partly get his wish, but not entirely. Stafford may be kept, having led the Rams to the playoffs in three of his four years since coming over in a trade with the Detroit Lions for Jared Goff.
According to Pro Football Reference, last season, he ranked 12th among qualified players regarding adjusted QBR at 64.7 and eighth with a 50.1% pass success rate.
Warner may not be so lucky on the Kupp front as the Eastern Washington product had 710 yards through the air in 2024, far less than the 1,947 he achieved in LA’s Super Bowl-winning season in 2021.
Cooper Kupp has been relegated to number two receiver on the Rams roster in favor of youngster Puka Nacua, who has been their leading pass-catcher in each of the past two seasons.
Kupp, a former First-team All-Pro is still in his three-year $80 million deal with the Rams which is scheduled to run out in 2026.