NFC Notes: Cooper Kupp, Darius Robinson, Matthew Stafford, Cardinals, Rams

Cardinals

Cardinals DE Darius Robinson missed 11 games last season due to a calf injury. Jonathan Gannon said next season is essentially a rookie year for Robinson. 

“He didn’t get to play a lot this year,” Gannon said, via Darren Urban of the team’s site. “You might say he’s going on Year 2. Not in my mind. He hasn’t played enough snaps.”

Gannon likes where Robinson is “trending” this offseason. 

“That’s the game of football,” Gannon said. “Everyone’s availability is going to be a little different. But I like where D-Rob is at right now, I like where he is trending. There is no doubt he is going to be an impact player for us.”

Rams

Rams QB Matthew Stafford has emerged as a possible trade candidate this offseason. When appearing on the Fitz & Whit podcast, Sean McVay said they didn’t feel Stafford was worth his $27 million salary next season.  

“There’s layers to it. How do we continuously build and support him? How do we make sure he’s getting his worth relative to those things? And so at the end of the day, we had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong,” McVay said. “And then, ultimately, you’re saying there’s a ton of interest, because this guy’s an incredible player.”

McVay also said they would still like Stafford to be their quarterback.  

“There’s no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback,” McVay said. “The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, ‘Hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?’ There is no dispute — and let’s not get it twisted in regarding to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback.”

Rams

The Rams made headlines when informing Cooper Kupp that they intend to trade him this offseason. When appearing on the Fitz & Whit podcast, Rams HC Sean McVay said they have a responsibility to improve the team despite having a close relationship with Kupp. 

“I’m a better human, I’m a better coach, I’m a better person because of my relationship and the influence Cooper Kupp’s had on me,” McVay said. “His legacy in my life and as a Ram is cemented forever. And we’ve had to have some honest conversations. And here’s the reality, too. I think you always preface it with, you have a responsibility to the collective and it doesn’t mean you’re right. I’ve been wrong before, I’ll be wrong again. Doesn’t change my love, my appreciation, my gratitude for everything that he’s meant.”

McVay reiterated they had to make a difficult decision with Kupp. 

“When you do look at putting together the puzzle, sometimes decisions that you try to be able to make for the collective don’t necessarily fit with people that are so special,” McVay said. “And no matter what he does, he’s an all-time Ram from this point on, whether he played another snap or not for the Rams – or wherever he goes on to have success for however many years he wants to continue to do it. But you try to say it’s business, it’s personal. It all is intermixed. I don’t think you can separate it. I think you acknowledge that tough decisions have to be made.”