Cooper Kupp Trade Rumors: Bills, Steelers Have Discussed Deal for Rams Star

The Los Angeles Rams reportedly spoke to multiple teams regarding a trade involving wide receiver Cooper Kupp prior to their win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini and Michael Silver, the Rams either reached out to or were reached out to by the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers regarding Kupp.

The talks held by the Rams and Chiefs reportedly occurred before Kansas City acquired wideout DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans this week.

Russini reported Tuesday that the Rams had "called multiple teams" to gauge interest in a trade for Kupp. The Rams were reportedly asking for a second-round pick in return and expressed a willingness to retain some of Kupp's salary.

In a follow-up, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter appeared on Get Up on Thursday morning and suggested the Rams would perhaps have trouble moving Kupp due to their asking price and his salary.

Kupp, 31, signed a three-year, $80.1 million extension in 2022 and is under contract through 2026, and he has a salary cap hit just shy of $30 million this season, per Spotrac.

According to Russini, the discussions the Chiefs and Rams had before KC landed Hopkins broke down because Kansas City did not want to part with a high draft pick and needed a team to eat a "large chunk" of the salary of the player they were acquiring.

Tennessee proved to be the ideal trading partner for Kansas City since it only cost a conditional fifth-round pick to acquire Hopkins.

As for the Bills, they made a trade with the Cleveland Browns for Amari Cooper last week, and he made an instant impact in their Week 7 win over the Titans, making four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

With Cooper in the fold, the Bills now have a solid starting three wideouts with him, rookie Keon Coleman and slot receiver Khalil Shakir, although providing quarterback Josh Allen with as many weapons as possible may not be a bad idea.

The Bills do have two 2025 second-round picks that they can use in a trade, but they only have $2.6 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com, making the acquisition of Kupp impossible unless the Rams absorb almost all of his salary.

Kupp's most logical landing spot would be Pittsburgh since the Steelers were rumored to be in on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk before he re-signed and wide receiver Davante Adams before the Las Vegas Raiders traded him to the New York Jets.

The Steelers are severely lacking a No. 2 option in the passing game outside of George Pickens, and they are in win-now mode with a veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson.

Of course, the Rams beating the Vikings on Thursday to improve to 3-4 could have completely changed where the organization stands on Kupp.

L.A. is now just one game behind the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West lead, and trading away Kupp in that situation would send a bad message to the rest of the team.

After missing four games due to an ankle injury, Kupp returned Thursday against the Vikings and finished with five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Injuries have been a huge issue for Kupp in recent years, but he had one of the greatest seasons ever by wide receiver in 2021 and put an exclamation point on it by being named Super Bowl MVP.

A healthy Kupp would be a huge addition for any team, however, keeping him represents the Rams' best chance at making a playoff run.