There’s no other way to describe last season as anything but a major disappointment for the Jacksonville Jaguars after a 4-13 finish. While injuries played a big factor, especially considering Trevor Lawrence missed seven starts due to injury, the Jaguars fell well short of expectations, and it got head coach Doug Pederson fired.
Now that the Jaguars have a new head coach in Liam Coen and a new general manager in James Gladstone, a slew of NFL rumors are hinting at Jacksonville trading for a specific former All-Pro receiver.
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Organizational ties could bring Cooper Kupp to Jacksonville Jaguars
While last season was a disappointment in Duval, the Jacksonville Jaguars did at least identify a new WR1 with Brian Thomas emerging as a star rookie. Yet, now the Jaguars have to find some complementary pieces that Trevor Lawrence can rely on.
Plus, Christian Kirk has been frequently named as a potential cap casualty due to his $24.1 million cap hit, which would only leave the Jaguars even thinner at the position. However, there’s good reason to believe the Jaguars may already have another solution in mind if they do move on from Kirk.
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp is on the trade block, largely because he too has a large cap number of $29.7 million in 2025. Plus, Puka Nacua has surpassed him on the WR totem pole in LA.
However, Kupp’s massive cap hit could be chopped down if he receives a contract extension along with a trade to a new team and the Jaguars make a lot of sense as a potential landing spot, not only due to need.
Another reason why many are expecting the Jaguars to make a play for Kupp is due to their strong familiarity with the former All-Pro wideout.
New Jaguars head coach Liam Coen spent four seasons coaching Kupp in LA, including as the assistant wide receivers coach from 2018 to 2019. He even spent a year as the Rams’ offensive coordinator, giving him a lot of experience working first-hand with the star wideout.
Not only is Coen familiar with Kupp, but so is new GM James Gladstone, who spent the last nine seasons in the Rams’ organization but now gets to call the shots in Jacksonville. Add it all up, and the Jaguars could be a prime landing spot for Kupp this offseason.
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