A Couple of Things About Kupp

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Killrazor

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Florida_Ram
Marvin Jones is my first choice of all the WR free agents.

Why? he's older and likely to sign for a cap friendly deal. And Stafford and him have great chemistry.

There are a few free agent WR's I would hope they sign right behind Jones that I would still be happy with.

I don't feel comfortable with Kupp's knees.

Woods is underrated, reliable, durable but he doesn't have the pedigree to carry the Rams pass catching group.

Van Jefferson flashed but if Kupp gets hurt again the Rams don't have enough depth at WR to make a deep playoff run imo.

I'm hoping (big time) that they sign an established WR free agent and draft another one on top of that.


No way do I trust Jefferson, Woods and Kupp to be enough to get the job done in 2021.

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)))))

Add me to the camp that feels that Kupp may be expendable going forward. His knees have been a big problem over the years and he can never seem to make the finish line (post season) when it matters the most. He was JG's preferred target for years and he probably wont automatically get that designation from Stafford.

I could see the Rams trading Kupp and going with Marvin Jones and either a John Ross or Eskridge type to really elevate the offensive firepower.

I know that I have previously advocated trading Kupp, but only doing so as part of a larger package for a Deshaun Watson deal. I could still see trading Kupp, but not as much now with Stafford on board. Here's why:

1) Not only is Kupp's knee an issue for me, but also my perception that he tends to wear down in the later halves of seasons. In 2019, he completely disappeared after 10 games. Part of that was because defenses had had enough and decided to take him completely out of the game (assuming that Goff couldn't adjust without his security blanket). But the other part of it was because I thought/think that, with the loss of Gurley and effective play-action, he and Woods were no longer running as free as before. Both have seen tighter coverage and have absorbed more hits - especially Kupp who Goff liked to force the ball to (remember, he had 20 targets in that Miami game). I don't think that Kupp's physical makeup allows for that much punishment.

But I'm wondering if we might see something different know that Stafford will be running the show? Not that Kupp wouldn't be one of his top targets...no, far from that. But I don't think that Stafford would force the ball to him. I also think that, if Akers can stay healthy and build off of his rookie season, that play-action might be back in business creating wider windows. I believe that this might keep Kupp fresher throughout the season.

2) I've always liked the depth the Rams have had at WR. Although both Woods and Kupp have missed games over the past couple of years, I've never felt that McVay lost confidence in the unit because Reynolds was more than capable. I suspect that he (McVay) has that same comfort level with Jefferson, but I believe that things might get tight if Kupp were traded and our WR unit consisted of Woody, Jefferson, and...say, Ross (who has had injury issues). Eskridge (were he even available to draft) would be a rookie. I've also concerns about Jones being a legit deep threat.

I guess we'll have to see, but I'm leaning more towards keeping Kupp now that Watson is off the table.