Before the Rams won two games in five days and found themselves tied for second place in the NFC West, they tried to trade aging and expensive receiver Cooper Kupp.

After going from 1-4 to 3-4, the Rams apparently decided not to do what they were trying to do. And to pretend they never tried. And to call out those who reported trying to do what they were trying to do.

“Here’s what I’ll tell you: Teams have been reaching out,” coach Sean McVay said after the Vikings’ 30-20 loss. “Some of the things I saw there – they are simply not true. We have discussed this with these people. Teams have been calling about him and we 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.”

If the Rams have addressed any of the reports about the Rams actually calling teams about trading Kupp, we haven’t seen any retractions yet. We doubt we will.

Again, any team trying to trade for a player has no reason to say that multiple teams are in discussions with the team the player plays for. Such reports could only make it more difficult to close the deal as other teams will come to the table and compete for the player.

Remember when the Rams tried to trade for Matthew Stafford? The Rams didn’t say “squat.” The Lions didn’t say squat. If someone had done that, other teams would have tried to pursue Stafford – and the price would have gone up.

It’s possible McVay doesn’t know the truth about the Kupp conversations. As one source with knowledge of the dynamics of trade negotiations and trade news coverage said of the Kupp reports, “This has all the hallmarks of a (Les) Snead/(Kevin) Demoff production.”

Look, we understand why the Rams would change their minds about trading Kupp. And we understand why they want Kupp not to think they’re going to dump him and his salary without a second thought. But there is no need to call people out on messages that are “simply not true,” and to pontificate about a perceived lack of “accountability” when there is nothing to be accountable for.

There’s no reason to doubt the veracity of reports that the Rams are calling teams about trading for Kupp, or that the Rams are willing to pay a portion of Kupp’s salary. No. And in a battle of credibility between people who make a living covering the NFL and the Rams, we won’t pick a winner.

We’ll just ask St. Louis.