INGLEWOOD – Trade speculation surrounding the availability of Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp has been at a fever pitch this week. Some reports indicated that teams had called the Rams to inquire about Kupp’s availability — standard procedure in the NFL. Others reported that the Rams had been proactive in their efforts to trade him.

After the Rams’ 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night, head coach Sean McVay did his best to put those rumors to rest.

“Teams reached out; Some of the things I saw there are just not true,” McVay said. “We discussed that with those people. Teams have been calling about him and we really let him know what the dialogue was there. And then there are a lot of things where there isn’t much accountability for the reports. And that’s a shame. … I think a lot of the things that were there, speculation, were exactly what that was. Speculation.”

McVay added, “I’m very pleased to have Cooper Kupp back with us, and I expect that will continue.”

Thursday was Kupp’s first game back after missing four games with an ankle sprain. The 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl LVI MVP started off a bit slow, failing to convert on his first two goals and going catchless through the first quarter.

But to cap the Rams’ second drive, quarterback Matthew Stafford found Kupp in the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown after dodging two potential sacks to extend the game.

“Someone did the breakaway the other day, ran over and made a play. Matthew said, it was literally this morning, he said, ‘I’m just too old to take that step,'” Kupp said. “After he threw the ball, I looked for him and said, ‘You big liar.’ He needs a little bit of self-doubt there, he needs a little bit of self-doubt so he can see, ‘Oh yeah, maybe I can do it.’ But then he got pumped. He had that Matthew Stafford walk on the sideline.

Kupp finished the game with five catches for 51 yards, and said it was nice to be back on the field with his teammates after a month away from game action.