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In the summer of 2023, when I was visiting with Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead, I theorized the idea of the team potentially being close to a rebuild — due to the age or uncertainty of what I dubbed as their franchise-defining “trinity” of head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
“You’re probably leaving Cooper Kupp out,” Snead replied, adding his star wideout to the conversation. “You could probably go a little deeper than that [trinity].”
It’s hard not to think back to that exchange right now, with the Rams sitting at 2-4, still struggling with injuries, and hosting a Minnesota Vikings team on Thursday Night Football that is clearly one of the NFC’s elites. This feels like we’ve arrived at a crossroads moment for Snead, McVay, Stafford, Kupp and basically the entire Rams franchise.
Win on Thursday and Los Angeles is back into the NFC scuffle.
Lose on Thursday and it’s going to be decision-making time.
I think the Rams are heading into a retooling. I also think that’s going to start with Kupp getting dealt before the trade deadline. And I think if the Rams are going to trade Kupp, they have to open their minds to trading Stafford, too.
Which I think they will if they lose on Thursday night to the Vikings.
That’s how much is hanging in the balance for the Rams — the difference between trying to salvage the season (and maybe even become deadline buyers), versus closing a chapter in team history and parting company with some aging stars.
First and foremost, this has to be said: It would be an extremely slim possibility of trading away both Kupp and Stafford. The financial implications alone — which a lot of people seem to be ignoring — are fairly staggering. At the very least, the Rams will have to eat some of Kupp’s remaining salary to draw real value in a trade (they’re not getting a second-round pick without it). That’s before even getting to Stafford’s contract, which…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/qb-room-week-7-if-the-rams-trade-cooper-kupp-matthew-stafford-going-to-the-vikings-cant-be-ruled-out-200942368.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-10-23 20:09:42
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