Les Snead won’t rush decisions on Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp
Les Snead knows how important Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp have been to the history of the Rams, but L.A.’s GM couldn’t give a confident answer when it comes to their futures. Asked if Stafford and Kupp are still the “weight-bearing walls” that the Rams have leaned on to build their team around going into 2025, Snead told reporters on Friday that he won’t have an answer to that until after he finalizes the rest of the roster and gets “rejuvanated”.
Snead also said that he has no intention of watching the Eagles-Commanders NFC Championship game because it’s too painful.
Speaking in past tense, Snead said that Stafford and Kupp have “definitely been weight-bearing walls” but compared their situations to Aaron Donald and said that the Rams would have to work out their contract situations and emphasized the importance of decompressing from 2024.
Asked Les Snead if he still believes Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are Rams’ “weight-bearing walls”, as he described them prior to team’s reset after 2022. Here’s his full answer, touching first on Rams’ offseason process and then the QB and WR’s place in Rams lore pic.twitter.com/D8lazcIIv2
— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) January 24, 2025
In the recent past, Snead and Sean McVay wouldn’t have had to be so deflective when talking about the upcoming seasons for Stafford and Kupp, but now the writing is on the weight-bearing walls: They’re “on the back nine”, as Snead put it and in Kupp’s case he is overpriced.
Kupp’s $29.8 million 2025 cap number is the fifth-highest in the NFL at his position and at least two of those players (Davante Adams and Tyler Lockett) will be released. Kupp will almost certainly have the same fate: He had 710 yards in 2024, his third straight season with fewer than 900 yards and his third straight season missing at least five games.
The Rams still owe Kupp $5 million guaranteed this season. Even if he takes a pay cut, that’s the same as being released and signing a new, cheaper contract.
Stafford’s situation is a little bit more complicated because there is no “Puka Nacua” at quarterback, no cheaper, younger, (better) player at the same position. And the team saves no cap space by releasing Stafford. They would need to trade him before his roster bonus to save any money or release him with a post-June 1 designation.
Both players have indicated a desire to keep playing. It may not be with the Rams.
