Why Patriots Should Ignore Cooper Kupp Warts To Chase Blockbuster Trade

Cooper Kupp isn’t the same player he was three seasons ago. He won’t earn another Triple Crown or Offensive Player of the Year award. He might not even play another full 17-game season as he enters his age-32 campaign.

Kupp would, however, help a young quarterback like Drake Maye while playing on a short-term deal.

The shifty chain-mover would be a security blanket for Maye in Josh McDaniels’ offense, which has been known to thrive on such. He’d be a consummate veteran in a receiver room currently made up of second- and third-year players as well as college teammate Kendrick Bourne.

Those are a few reasons why the Patriots should target Kupp, who is on the Los Angeles Rams trade block. But they’re not alone.

“Highly motivated, as healthy as ever, and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come,” Kupp wrote in a statement announcing he was on the trade market.

Even if there’s a decent-sized market, Kupp could still come relatively cheap via trade. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer on Tuesday morning shed some light on what he thinks it would cost to acquire Kupp.

“I don’t think very much,” Breer said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Hardy.” “I think it’s probably a Day 3 pick, maybe even a pick swap. It’s the contract.”

The Patriots have plenty of draft capital with their own fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2025 and 2026 and a pair of sixth-rounders in 2026. New England drafted wide receiver Javon Baker with its fourth-round pick in 2024. Safe to say even an aging Kupp would be an upgrade in asset management.

Kupp’s contract is the biggest hurdle. According to Spotrac, any team that acquires Kupp is on the hook for $20 million ($5 million guaranteed) in 2025 and $19.85 million non-guaranteed in 2026 (although a restructure isn’t out of the question). His cap hits are $29.8 and $27.3 million, respectively. But for only two seasons!

And New England could certainly wear it, right? The Patriots enter the offseason with the most cap space in the NFL. They can (and should) use some of that on pass-catching help for their young quarterback. They could still make a run at another high-priced wideout like Tee Higgins. It doesn’t take them out of other moves at the position, or drafting a younger player.

The Patriots haven’t exactly been a desirable landing spot to those on the free-agent market either.

A big question in all this is whether Kupp would want to come to the Patriots. Kupp revealed the Rams would be working with him to “find the right place” where he can “continue competing for championships.” That doesn’t scream New England.

But it doesn’t mean the Patriots shouldn’t make a run at him.