Rams release Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp

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Rams release Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp

2025-03-13 05:08 Last Updated At：05:10

The Los Angles Rams cut Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp after being unable to find a trade partner for their former No. 1 wide receiver.

The Rams officially moved on from the 2021 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the start of the league year on Wednesday.

Kupp announced last month that the Rams were trying to trade him despite his desire to remain with the team. But with him being owed $20 million this season, no other team was willing to make a trade.

Kupp thanked Rams fans in a social media post and said he will savor the memories of his eight seasons with the team, but added that the “best is yet to come.”

“We talked often about the Rams being back in LA and how we would grow to be something special here,” he wrote. “And there was frustration early on around getting the buy-in from the people of LA. But we knew at the end of the day, it’s about providing moments. Shared experiences. The things that parents and their children will talk about and remember forever. That is what makes the ending of these last eight years so difficult. It’s the ending of something we have enjoyed building with you.”

The Rams will take on $22.3 million in dead cap money with $14.8 million coming this year and the rest in 2026 based on the three-year, $80.1 million extension he signed following his transcendent 2021 season.

Kupp. won the receiving triple crown and Super Bowl MVP in the 2021 season when he caught 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. Kupp added 33 catches for 478 yards and six TDs in the postseason, including the game-winning touchdown in a Super Bowl win over Cincinnati on the Rams homefield.

But Kupp’s production tailed off in the past three seasons when he hadn't played more than 12 games in any season because of injuries and hasn't had 900 yards receiving in any season.

He had a rough finish this season after he missed four early games with an ankle injury. He struggled to get the ball down the stretch for the Rams, making just 12 catches for 162 yards in the final five games of the regular season during the least productive stretch of his career.

Kupp's role has been diminished as Puka Nacua has emerged as an elite NFL receiver in the past two seasons. The 2023 fifth-round pick is averaging a whopping 88.4 yards per game, one of the highest averages in league history, and has credited Kupp's tutelage and leadership for his success.

Los Angeles has also added Davante Adams so far this offseason, signing the three-time All-Pro to a two-year deal that could be worth up to $46 million.

Kupp was drafted in the third round in 2017 out of Eastern Washington in coach Sean McVay's first draft class. He has been a centerpiece of McVay’s offensive game plans throughout his career, catching 634 passes for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.

The Rams have shown a willingness to move on from star players. General manager Les Snead traded or released Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Robert Woods in recent years before their own massive contract extensions had even kicked in.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

The Golden Globes are tonight. Here's what to look for and how to watch and stream the show

The Golden Globes bill themselves as Hollywood’s booziest bash. This year, is anyone ready to party?

Political tension and industrywide uncertainty are the prevailing moods heading into Sunday night's 83rd Golden Globes. Hollywood is coming off a disappointing box-office year and now anxiously awaits the fate of one of its most storied studios, Warner Bros.

A celebratory mood might be even more elusive given that the wide majority of the performers and filmmakers congregating at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, oppose the policies of President Donald Trump. Likely to be on the minds of many attendees: the recent U.S. involvement in Venezuela and the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother Renee Good in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But through their ups and downs, the Globes have always tried to put pomp over politics. Host Nikki Glaser has vowed as much.

“You’d be surprised that half the room had no clue why I was saying ‘Venezuela,’” Glaser told The Associated Press earlier in the week, referring to her comedy-club warm-ups. “People aren’t getting the news like we all are.”

Glaser, a comic known for her roast appearances, has promised to go after A-listers in her second time hosting.

“We’re going to hit Leo,” Glaser said. “The icebergs are coming.”

Here’s what to look for at this year’s Globes:

The Golden Globes kick off at 8 p.m. EST on CBS while streaming live for Paramount+ premium subscribers. E!’s red carpet coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST.

The Associated Press will be have a livestream show beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern with a mix of stars' arrivals, fashion shots and celebrity interviews. It will be available on YouTube and APNews.

The overwhelming Oscar favorite “One Battle After Another” comes in with a leading nine nominations. It’s competing in the Globes’ musical or comedy category, which means the drama side might be more competitive. There, Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” are all in the mix.

But thus far, “One Battle After Another” has cleaned up just about everywhere. Much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s cast is nominated, including DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Benicio Del Toro.

If it and “Sinners” take home the two biggest prizes, it will be a banner night for Warner Bros. even as its future hangs in the balance. The studio has agreed to be acquired by Netflix is a deal worth $82.7 billion. Movie theaters have warned such a result would be “a direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.”

The merger awaits regulatory approval, while Paramount Skydance is still trying to convince Warner shareholders to accept its rival offer.

After an audacious promotional tour for “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet is poised to win his first Globe in five nominations. In best actor, comedy or musical, he’ll have to beat DiCaprio, a three-time Globe winner, and Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”).

In best actress, comedy or musical, Rose Byrne is the favorite for her performance in the not especially funny A24 indie “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” One prominent nominee in the category, Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked: For Good”), won’t be attending due to her schedule in the West End production “Dracula.”

Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”) is the clear front-runner in best actress, drama. In the star-studded best actor, drama, category, the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“The Secret Agent”) may win over Michael B. Jordan (“Sinners”) and Joel Edgerton (“Train Dreams”).

In the supporting categories, Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård come in the favorites.

The Globes, formerly presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have no overlap or direct correlation with the Academy Awards. After being sold in 2023 to Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, a part of Penske Media, the Globes are voted on by around 400 people. The Oscars are voted on by more than 10,500 professionals.

But in the fluctuating undulations of awards season, a good speech at the Globes can really boost an Oscar campaign. Last year, that seemed to be the case for Demi Moore, who won for “The Substance” and gave the night's most emotional speech. Mikey Madison (“Anora”), however, scored the upset win at the Oscars.

A few potentially good moments this year went instead in a Golden Eve ceremony earlier this week. There, the Cecil B. DeMille and Carol Burnett honorees, Helen Mirren and Sarah Jessica Parker, accepted their awards.

One to watch, if he wins, will be the Iranian director Jafar Panahi. His revenge drama “It Was Just an Accident” is up for four awards. Panahi has spent most of his career making films clandestinely, without approval of authorities, and was until recently banned from leaving the country. Last month, he was sentenced to a year in prison, which would be only his latest stint behind bars if Panahi returns home to serve it. This week, protests over Iran’s ailing economy have spread throughout the country in a new test to Iran's leaders.

For the first time, the Globes are trotting out a new podcast category. The nominees are: “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” “Good Hang With Amy Poehler,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “SmartLess” and “Up First.”

In TV, HBO Max’s “The White Lotus” — another potential big winner for Warner Bros. — leads with six nominations. Netflix’s “Adolescence” comes in with five nods.

But the most closely watched nominee might be “The Studio.” The first season of Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire memorably included an episode devoted to drama around a night at the Globes. (Sample line: “I remember when the red carpet of the Golden Globes actually stood for something.”) “The Studio” is up for three awards, giving three chances for life to imitate art.

For more coverage of this year’s Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards