Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp announced last night that the Rams are trying to trade for him, and after reportedly having interest in acquiring Kupp during the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are favorites to land Kupp this offseason. Bovada has the Steelers at almost even money to land Kupp, giving them +115 odds to acquire the former Super Bowl MVP and NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Pittsburgh is the clear favorite at +115, while the Los Angeles Chargers are second at +250, ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions, both at +750. Every other team listed is a longshot right now, with +1000 odds or longer. A $100 bet on the Steelers trading for Kupp would net $115.
For Pittsburgh to trade for Kupp, it would likely need the Rams to eat some of his 2025 salary. That’s not exclusive to the Steelers, as the Rams will be hard-pressed to find a taker for Kupp at his $20 million cash and cap charges in 2025 given his injury history. He’s missed 20 games over the past three seasons and hasn’t played an entire season since 2021, when he led the league with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Kupp would certainly upgrade Pittsburgh’s wide receiver corps, but the contract value hasn’t met the production due to his injuries over the past few seasons, and he will be 32 years old next season. Los Angeles will likely try to trade Kupp before his roster bonus is due on March 15, and that amount is $7.5 million.
While the Steelersreportedly checked in on Kupp during the 2024 season, have a clear need at wide receiver and may prefer to add a veteran than a rookie, the current odds are a little bit surprising with how heavily the Steelers are favored. Given that the team likely would want to wait to acquire him until after his roster bonus is due and would likely want Los Angeles to eat salary and also need to give up draft capital, albeit likely not more than a Day 3 selection, there are a lot of hurdles that need to be cleared before Pittsburgh would deal for Cooper Kupp.
But given the Steelers’ need at wide receiver and their previous interest in Kupp, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to acquire him, but I certainly wouldn’t bet on it at the current odds.
