Oh, how the winds of the NFL can shift ever so quickly! After the Kansas City Chiefs traded for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, many speculated the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the team most likely to land WR Cooper Kupp in a trade before the NFL deadline. But all that hope went out the window on Thursday Night Football.
An underwhelming Rams team was expected to lose to the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings in Week 8, but Sean McVay and company had other plans. With Kupp and fellow star receiver Puka Nakua returning to the Rams' lineup this week, LA was able to put up 30 points on TNF in the win.
Instead of dropping to 2-5 on the season and falling further behind in the NFC Wild Card race, the Rams are now 3-4 after upsetting one of the top teams in the conference.
Just like that, the Rams leapfrogged the San Francisco 49ers in their division and are one game behind the Seahawks for the lead in the AFC West.
Cooper Kupp trade no longer an option for Steelers
Unfortunately, this Rams victory on Thursday Night Football comes with major consequences for the Steelers. The odds-on favorites to land Cooper Kupp via trade will have to look elsewhere for help at the wide receiver position.
With the Rams very much in the thick of things, there's not a chance they trade away one of the best players on their team before the deadline. The narrative would have been very different had LA expectedly lost their TNF game against the Vikings.
Sadly, this leaves Pittsburgh without any respectable trade prospects at the wide receiver position. Davante Adams has already been traded to the Jets and the Browns were never going to trade Amari Cooper within the division.
The options that remain are underwhelming, to say the least. Players like Mike Williams of the Jets or Kendrick Bourne of the Patriots won't be enough to move the needle for this team, and the upgrade would be minimal. While the Steelers could try to get aggressive for a player like Jacksonville's Christian Kirk, the 5'11'' slot receiver isn't an ideal fit for what they need.
Frankly, the Steelers are out of luck when it comes to trading for a needle-moving wide receiver. Cooper Kupp was their last hope in adding an offensive weapon who would make a difference and, thanks to a Rams win on TNF, that hope is now gone.