Puka Nacua is going to miss Cooper Kupp

Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is on the trade block. That isn't good news for wide receiver Puka Nacua.

“I guess it’s still kind of too fresh to kind of think about,” Nacua told Amos Morale III of TheAthletic.com on Tuesday.

Kupp announced on social media that the Rams are seeking to trade him, prompting Nacua to reply with confusion.

“I think I’ve been blessed to be able to run to Cooper for these past three years, and he’s been nothing but a mentor to me,” Nacua said. “You watch somebody who’s detail-oriented, who’s paying attention to the small details and the captain and leader of our team, somebody who communicates so well.

“So it’s been so exciting and such a blessing to be able to be behind him.”

The Rams drafted Kupp in the third round of the 2017 draft, and in 2021, he won the NFL' s receiving triple crown and Super Bowl LVI MVP honors. Kupp played 12 games in 2024 and made 67 catches for 710 yards and six touchdowns.

“I think of the standards that he’s set in the receiver room and in the offense, to be an extra receiver, to feel like we’re an 11-person [unit] now because we block . . . and we understand where the runs are going and how to impact the run game as a wide receiver who’s not touching the ball,” Nacua said. “But then also . . . to still be an attacking threat on the offensive side of the ball as a receiver. Just yeah. Cooper Kupp epitomizes all of those things as a wide receiver.”