Cooper Kupp Uncertain on Rams Future, Won't Retire: 'I Definitely Will Be Playing'

After being floated in trade rumors earlier this season, Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp admitted that his future with the team is uncertain, but he doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon.

"Who knows what is going to happen?" Kupp told The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue. "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.

"Do I want to play next year? Oh yeah," he added, laughing. "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.

Kupp has spent his entire career with the Rams after they drafted him in the third round in 2017. The 31-year-old was the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year after winning the receiving triple crown. He helped Los Angeles win Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals that season, earning Super Bowl MVP honors after producing eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was the game-winner.

Unfortunately, Kupp has been mired by injuries since his historic 2021 campaign. He appeared in just nine games in 2022 and 12 games in each of the past two years. In 2024, he recorded 67 receptions for 710 yards and six touchdowns. He had five catches for 61 yards in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round.

"For me personally, feeling like 'man, there's things I'm watching (on) film and feeling good about the football I'm playing,' but production-wise it's not showing up," Kupp said. "A lot of 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. Even though it was not pretty a lot of the time offensively, we got it done. So yeah, there's frustration there. Obviously you want — I want — to be able to feel like I'm impacting games."

Kupp signed a three-year, $80 million contract extension with the Rams in 2022 and has cap hits of $29.7 million and $27.3 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively. However, only $5 million of his salary for next season is guaranteed, and none is guaranteed in 2026. He said he expects to have a healthy offseason, so Los Angeles could score a big return if it chooses to trade him at any point.