Sean McVay shuts down Cooper Kupp trade speculation after star WR returns for Rams' win over Vikings

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay expects star receiver Cooper Kupp to stay right where he is.

McVay criticized media speculation about the possibility of the Rams trading Kupp after the Super Bowl 56 MVP returned from injury in Los Angeles' 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.

“I think a lot of the things that were out there, speculation was exactly what it was,” McVay said. “I’m really glad to have Cooper Kupp back with us, and that’s what I expect to stay that way.”

Kupp had been blanketed by trade rumors this week as he neared his return from a four-game absence with an ankle injury. The 2021 AP Offensive Player of the Year had five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings in the second victory in five days for the Rams (3-4), catapulting them back into contention in the NFC West.

With McVay's Rams looking like a possible contender again, the prospect of trading their top receiver seems less likely. While McVay acknowledged that other teams want the veteran wideout, the coach said he was disappointed by the content of the speculation around Kupp, who has been with the Rams for McVay's entire career.

“Here’s what I’ll tell you: Teams reached out,” McVay said. “Some of the things I’ve seen out there, they’re just not true. We’ve addressed that with those individuals. Teams have called about him, and really we let him know what the dialogue was there. And then there’s a lot of stuff out there where there’s not a lot of accountability to the reports, and that’s unfortunate.”

Kupp addressed his future during the short week of preparation, saying he largely ignored the speculation. After making a handful of big plays in a balanced offensive effort against Minnesota, Kupp still wasn't interested in thinking about changing teams.

“There's all that stuff out there, but there's something that was cool about all that stuff going on outside the facility, but on a short week, every minute (I) spent preparing to come out here and play,” Kupp said. “It gave me the opportunity to focus in on being where my feet are, being able to prepare as best as I can, and then come out here and let it rip.”

Kupp caught a 7-yard TD pass from Matthew Stafford in the second quarter against Minnesota. He then made a key 27-yard catch for a first down late in the fourth quarter while the Rams finished off their victory.

Kupp has spent his entire eight-year career with the Rams, but he has played in only 24 of Los Angeles' 41 games since his career-defining string of performances on the way to a championship in the 2021-22 season. Kupp had 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns during the 2021 regular season.

Kupp has two years left on a three-year contract extension worth about $80 million.

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

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) celebrates with tight end Colby Parkinson (86) after catching a 7-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp warms up before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) catches a pass against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore (2) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a compound housing journalists in southeast Lebanon has killed three media staffers, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Friday.

Local news station Al Jadeed aired footage from the scene — a collection of chalets that had been rented by various media outlets — showing collapsed buildings and cars marked PRESS covered in dust and rubble. The Israeli army did not issue a warning prior to the strike.

The Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said two of its staffers — camera operator Ghassan Najar and broadcast technician Mohammed Rida — were among the journalists killed early Friday. Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.

Ali Shoeib, Al-Manar’s well-known correspondent in south Lebanon, was seen in a video filming himself with a cellphone saying that the camera operator who had been working with him for months was killed. Shoeib said the Israeli military knew that the area that was struck housed journalists of different media organizations.

“We were reporting the news and showing the suffering of the victims and now we are the news and the victims of Israel’s crimes,” Shoeib added in the video aired on Al-Manar TV.

The Hasbaya region has been spared much of the violence along the border and many of the journalists now staying there have moved from the nearby town of Marjayoun that has been subjected to sporadic strikes in recent weeks. Earlier in the week, a strike hit an office belonging to Al-Mayadeen on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Several journalists have been killed since exchange of fire began along the Lebanon-Israel border in early October last year.

In November 2023, two journalists for Al-Mayadeen TV were killed in a drone strike. A month earlier, Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and wounded other journalists from France’s international news agency, Agence France-Presse, and Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV.

Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The Israeli campaign has since expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion Oct. 1, after trading fire with the Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.

Lebanese health officials reported another day of intense airstrikes and shelling Thursday, which they said killed 19 people over 24 hours and raised the overall Lebanese death toll to 2,593 since October 2023.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Mansouri village, as it seen from the southern city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)