The Denver Broncos are a potential trade destination for Cooper Kupp.
That per CBS Sports and The Sporting News this morning.
Kupp to the Broncos makes sense on multiple levels, but only if the price is right and his contract is restructured.
Denver Broncos are a potential trade destination for Cooper Kupp
The Broncos are a work in progress, and a team ahead of schedule.
Few, if any, thought Denver would make the playoffs in 2024 with a rookie quarterback and a lack of playmakers on offense. But Sean Payton led them to the postseason.
And now, they want to build on the momentum and stay in the playoffs going forward.
As Mina Kimes said last week on her podcast, the Broncos need a playmaker. Kimes was talking more specifically about a running back and/or tight end, and she’s spot-on about it.
Payton’s receiver room is next up after those two needs, though.
Courtland Sutton enjoyed a career year with Nix at QB. He’s the team’s No. 1 receiver, whether fans think he’s a true No. 1 guy or not.
Josh Reynolds was brought in last year to be the No. 2, but never panned out and was eventually released. Outside of those two, the Broncos got a decent amount of production out of an extremely young receiver group. Devaughn Vele was a rookie surprise, and Marvin Mims enjoyed a breakout. Meanwhile, Troy Franklin needs more time to develop.
Even with Reynolds last year, the Broncos needed another playmaker at receiver. They got it when Mims elevated his game down the stretch. Now, they need to add a baller to the room and Kupp is a great option.
At 31 years old, he’s still got a lot of football life left in him. But it should be noted that Kupp has played in only 33 games the last three years combined. And he didn’t come close to 1,000 yards in any of those seasons.
What Kupp would bring to the Broncos is experience–including a Super Bowl win and Super Bowl MVP–sure hands, and a fit as a slot/outside receiver.
Denver can’t use most of its cap space on a receiver, though
Kupp has been a game-breaking receiver in the past, and even at his current level would immediately impact Denver’s passing game in a positive way. He could catch passes over the middle from an escaping Bo Nix, or pressure a defense vertically. Kupp had 10 explosive catches last year in only 12 games, which would put him in second behind Sutton (17).
But there are some concerns.
He missed 13 games in 2022-2023 due to a lingering hamstring injury that sent him to the IR. And last year he was on the short-term IR for four games due to a high ankle sprain.
Besides those injuries affecting his production, Kupp’s contract is far too expensive to justify trading for him as-is.
In 2025, Kupp’s salary cap hit is a whopping $29.78 million. That’s the fifth-highest in the league at the position. Sutton is due $20 million in 2025, the 14th-most among receivers. Denver simply can’t sink $50 million, or 21% of their cap, into two aging receivers.
As of right now, the Broncos have $34.8 million in salary cap space, so trading for Kupp at his current salary would leave Denver a mere $5 million to play with.
It all adds up to needing to restructure his deal if the Denver Broncos trade for Cooper Kupp.
What would it cost them to make the deal? Likely only a few late-round draft picks: say, a fourth and a sixth. But none of that can happen without having a plan in place to restructure his deal.
There’s also a long list of free agent receivers available, but the ones under $10M AAV are more role players than anything. Guys like Marquise Brown, Robert Woods, and Nelson Agholor are among those lower-tier options.
With Kupp saying on social media the Rams are looking to trade him immediately, a deal could come quickly for an interested team. Other potential landing spots include the Steelers, Chargers, Patriots, Texans, and more.
