Chiefs chose Cooper Kupp over DeAndre Hopkins?

Patrick MahomesDespite his status as the league’s most accomplished active quarterback, the Chiefs’ megastar hasn’t been nearly as productive as his stratospheric starting five as Kansas City’s starter over the past two seasons. The two-time defending champions attempted to revive their cornerstone player by revamping their receiving corps in the offseason, but injuries intervened.

Rashee Rice is out for the season, and Marquise Brown is done for at least the regular season. Xavier Waard is still developing and doesn’t offer much consistency yet despite its first-round status. Of JuJu Smith-Schuster When they went down with a hamstring issue in Week 7, the Chiefs gave Mahomes another piece by acquiring DeAndre Hopkins of the Titans. Hopkins, who only cost a conditional fifth-round pick to acquire, debuted for his new team in Week 8.

(RELATED: Bills, Steelers discussed Kupp with Rams)

The Chiefs had pursued Hopkins in a trade with the Cardinals last year and then made him an offer loaded with incentives. While they had done a lot of work on the potential Hall of Famer, the Chiefs may have been more interested in a player who was recently discussed in trade rumors. Before finalizing a Hopkins trade, the Chiefs held talks with the Rams Kuiper Kupp. Kansas City appears to have favored Kupp over Hopkins, according to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post, but multiple factors kept the former Super Bowl MVP in Los Angeles.

The Rams may have left Kupp dangling, but they were mostly believed to be on the receiving end of the calls rather than making them. LA wanted a second-round pick, and while the team was open to a portion of Kupp’s remaining base salary (nearly $9 million before Week 9), Kansas City was in no position to take a player with a high 5-point pick recruit number. The Chiefs and Titans split the Hopkins tab, with the acquiring team having the 12th-year vet on its 2024 payroll at $5.56 million.

Kansas City restructured Jawaan Taylor‘s contract to create space for Hopkins, who is signing a two-year deal worth $26 million. The Taylor adjustment, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, created $5.3 million in cap space. Kansas City has seen the addition of the right tackle fall short of expectations, and the restructuring from base to bonus will make it more difficult to part with him down the road. However, Taylor’s salary for 2025 is already guaranteed, so this adjustment could impact a divorce in 2026.

As for Kupp, the Rams effectively took him off the market not long after the trade rumors started circulating. Kupp and Puka Nacua returned in Week 8 and helped the Rams upset the Vikings. LA is one game out of the NFC West leader and figures to use its standout receivers to make another playoff push, health permitting, rather than cut a player who has contributed so much to the cause since he was called up. Sean McVay‘s first year as HC.

Multiple General Managers told La Canfora that they do not expect the 31-year-old wideout to be moved. Kupp’s injury history and the Rams’ high asking price never seemed to support a trade. Kupp is still signed through the 2026 season; There are $5 million in guarantees remaining on the three-year, $80.1 million contract following this season.

The Chiefs are moving on from Hopkins, who wants to free up space for Worthy, Travis Kelce and Co. as a now defense-driven version of Andy Reid‘s juggernaut will try to hold off challengers in the coming months.