Rams coach Sean McVay provides more detail about parting ways with Cooper Kupp

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PALM BEACH, Fla. — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said that receiver Cooper Kupp is “probably not (his) biggest fan” at the moment, after McVay and the Rams’ decision to release the former Super Bowl MVP last month. McVay spoke about Kupp’s release for the first time Tuesday morning at the annual league meeting.

“The one thing I do know that he knows is how much I appreciate him, how much I love him, and how grateful I am for the time we had, even if I’m probably not … he’s probably not my biggest fan right now,” the head coach said.

Kupp, 31, signed a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks a few days after his release in March. He’s closer to his native Yakima, Wash., and his alma mater Eastern Washington University — a silver lining of a transition that stung after his eight seasons in L.A.

“It’s been difficult. In all honesty, it’s been very difficult and frustrating and there’s been lots of questions,” said Kupp, at an introductory news conference with the Seahawks in late March. “It’s a real tough situation. I’ve said I’ve always imagined that I’d finish my career there, but that’s not what the plan was that God had for me and my family.”

Kupp, who reiterated his gratitude for his memories and experiences with the Rams during his news conference, also said that he didn’t have “a ton of clarity” from the organization as leaders outlined their decision, and that he was “sure they have their reasons for why they want to do things, whatever it is.”

McVay responded to that on Tuesday.

Rams coach Sean McVay discussed how the team decided to release Cooper Kupp. (Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)

“Yeah, I think we do (feel we provided clarity). Here’s the thing … there’s an element of, there was clarity (about) ‘this is the direction that we’re gonna go,’” he said. “Now, to be able to provide all the context — we didn’t have all of the context that was applicable in regards to … what did we really envision that receiver room (looking like)? We thought Davante Adams would be a possibility. We don’t know, you know, he’s going to have other interests. There was a possibility we were gonna re-sign Tutu Atwell, but we didn’t know at the time.

“I think the most important thing was when we had made the decision that we were gonna seek a trade or at least grant him his release, that was very quickly after the season, which I thought he deserved that clarity in regard to the direction we were going. Now, exactly why all those things occurred, there had to be a little bit of time to be able to provide the appropriate context. That wasn’t applicable in the moment.”

Overall, McVay has called moving on from Kupp a “football decision.” He said earlier this offseason that it was among the “hardest” he’s ever had to make. Kupp became a key organizational cornerstone after his third-round selection in the 2017 draft (McVay’s first as a head coach).

“It doesn’t change the legacy, all the great things (and) more importantly the great person that he is,” McVay said Tuesday, “but we do have a responsibility to the collective and it was what we felt like was the best decision for our football team moving forward. Not easy. But that’s what our responsibility is.”

The organization did not approach Kupp to restructure or adjust his existing extension, signed in 2022. Kupp’s release was not designated as a post-June 1 cut, so the Rams will carry $22.26 million in dead money on their salary cap from his contract in 2025.

After the Rams lost in the divisional round in Philadelphia, top executives — McVay, Kevin Demoff, Les Snead and Tony Pastoors — took a trip together to stake out time to discuss their offseason plans at length.

“We talked about Cooper a lot during those couple of days when we ended up going away,” McVay said. “We came to (this) conclusion. That was when we got back, and I sat down with him (that I) told him we were going to seek a trade (and) if we weren’t able to find a trade partner, then we’d end up granting you your release.

“It was a challenging conversation, but he could not have been more classy.”

Kupp later posted on social media that the team had informed him of its decision, and that he disagreed with it while thanking Los Angeles fans.

The Rams signaled their intent to rebuild their offense through third-year star Puka Nacua first with their publicized aim to part with Kupp, then by McVay’s aggressive pursuit of top veteran receiver Davante Adams in free agency in March.

McVay believes the two receivers will play complementary roles, and will be supplemented by speed threat Tutu Atwell, who signed a one-year extension, second-year receiver Jordan Whittington (who may assume more of a fullback position) and potentially an incoming draft pick.

The head coach agreed with criticism that Atwell, 24, was previously underutilized (by McVay) in the offense. Atwell was a second-round pick in 2021 but has just 99 career catches and 1,343 yards. He had a developing market ahead of free agency because of his speed and soft hands, league sources said, which in part led to the Rams extending him early.

“I think when you look at his body of work, when he’s been able to play — especially in some of the times that he was playing while Cooper was on IR, there was a lot of production,” McVay said. “If you project that over the course of 17 games, you just watch what he’s able to do, he’s matured as a young man. I love the person, getting to know him. I think that he’s only getting better. … I thought he really improved his route detail. For a smaller guy, he’s got a good catch radius.”

McVay previously deployed much of his game plan through Kupp, who won the NFL’s triple crown in 2021 and was that season’s Super Bowl MVP. But in 2022-24, Kupp played just 33 combined games because of injuries.

Nacua emerged as the No. 1 target for quarterback Matthew Stafford in part because Kupp missed the first four games of 2023 with a hamstring injury. Though healthy in the latter part of 2024, Kupp’s targets still dwindled to three per game from Weeks 15 through 17 (and starters were a healthy scratch in Week 18). In the playoffs, he was targeted just eight times in two games.

“I think at the end of the day, (Kupp) has meant so much (but) felt like it was a little bit different in terms of the direction that we were gonna go with that receiver room,” McVay said. “I think it does provide a great opportunity to see Puka Nacua continue to ascend. He learned so much from Cooper over these last couple years. But now — there’s always been that respectful deference — now you get a chance to be able to continue to learn from Davante Adams while continuing to take that next step. …

“You’re just looking at, ‘What are the plans for your receiver room?’ And it was going to be a challenging fit (for Kupp) moving forward. With respect to him, I think he’s going to get a better opportunity to shine.”

Adams, who is coming off a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season, was in Japan after his March 4 release from the New York Jets when he received multiple narrated videos of his NFL highlights from McVay.

The coach had clearly shifted his focus onto the 32-year-old, three-time All-Pro receiver.

McVay filmed his computer screen with his phone as he went through each play, which were organized into different categories that illustrated how Adams would fit in the offense, what McVay saw as his gifts, and how he and Adams could schematically adjust depending on how defenders covered him. He narrated each play in a detailed fashion, spanning about 10 total minutes between the two videos.

Adams told The Athletic in March that he initially believed his Wi-Fi was not working abroad because the first video took so long to load.

“I could kind of see what the cover was, but it wouldn’t load all the way,” he said. “I’m sitting here like, ‘Is it my Wi-Fi?’ But everything else (was) working fine. Then I looked down at my phone, it said (it was) loaded, and I tapped it and it said ‘seven minutes long,’ ” he said. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what is this?!’

“I hear how it starts, he’s got it blocked off clip by clip. He’s narrating. He’s talking about everything. I’m laughing at the beginning, and then I start watching it. Started to kind of feel it a little bit, I like this energy.”

Meanwhile, Kupp had a multi-team market after his March 12 release. The Athletic reported the Dallas Cowboys, Seahawks and New Orleans Saints all expressed interest in signing the receiver.

“Kupp had like three or four teams he was talking to and he wanted to come home,” Seattle GM John Schneider said. “He’s going to be great for (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) — he’s going to be great for the whole team, but you think about a guy like JSN and (Kupp), everybody says, is the ultimate worker. It was a huge get for us.”

Kupp, who will step into the Seahawks’ offense following the departure of veterans Tyler Lockett (released) and DK Metcalf (traded to Pittsburgh), has previous experience with Seattle’s pass game coordinator Jake Peetz when the coach worked under McVay in Los Angeles. He also reunited with Ernest Jones IV, an inside linebacker who was a three-year starter and two-year team captain for the Rams before they traded him last summer.

“Ernest talked a lot about how he came in here, the way he was welcomed in and the way the guys went to work, the communication they have, the way they operate as one on defense,” Kupp said. “That’s a huge thing defensively. Defenses only work if you’re playing as one unit. He just had incredible things to say about his time here last year with the guys.”

(Top photo of Cooper Kupp: Harry How / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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