Who Should I Start? Mike Evans or Cooper Kupp

Monday, January 13, 12:26 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans caught all seven of his targets for 92 yards and one touchdown during Sunday's loss to the Washington Commanders. He once again established himself as the top target for Baker Mayfield, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Buccaneers fell to the Commanders on a last-second field goal. Evans is coming off a storybook 2024 campaign in which he delivered his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season despite missing three games due to injury. The 31-year-old has cemented himself as a high-end WR2 on a yearly basis, with plenty of weekly appearances in the WR1 range throughout his career. Even as he enters his 12th NFL season with time not on his side, Evans remains a top wide receiver and should be regarded as a high-end WR2 heading into 2025 fantasy football.

Saturday, February 22, 11:31 AM

The Athletic's Jourdan Rodriguez writes that if the Los Angeles Rams can't trade wide receiver Cooper Kupp this offseason, they could cut him instead. Things are a bit tricky, though: Cutting him before June 1 would incur $22.26 million in dead money while saving only $7.5 million. Kupp has a roster bonus of $7.5 million due on March 17. If the Rams were to designate him as a post-June 1 cut, they'd have $14.8 million in dead money while saving $15 million. According to a league source, the Rams didn't ask Kupp about a contract restructure and appear to be willing to eat some money in order to facilitate a trade. The 31-year-old wideout has been in decline ever since recording the receiving Triple Crown in 2021 with 145 catches, 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. Injuries are mostly to blame -- he hasn't played more than 12 games the last three years -- but he could still be fantasy relevant in the right situation elsewhere.