Getty Allen Robinson and Cooper Kupp on October 16, 2022 in Inglewood.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Rams never got the chance to witness the dynamic possibilities of Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson being paired together on the receiving end. Their tandem culminated in injuries, inconsistency and eventually, a trade to send “A-Rob” to the Pittsburgh Steelers which was finalized Friday, April 21.
But there were no harsh feelings toward Robinson on Kupp’s end. And though their time was brief, Kupp sent this message to Robinson Friday once the deal to Pittsburgh fell through.
“Thankful to have gotten to sharpen my game alongside you, @AllenRobinson. Go eat this year!” Kupp sent to Robinson via Twitter.
Robinson responded back to his teammate of just one season.
“Appreciate bro! Same here, keep cookin!” Robinson said.
The 2 When They Were Together
To reiterate, the original thought the Rams had in mind when they signed Robinson to a mega $46.5 million deal for three years was to give the Rams a taller, more physical presence next to Kupp — plus also turn to “A-Rob” for the more contested throws, as he developed a knack for coming down with those types of passes.
The chemistry, however, was never fully developed.
For starters, Robinson was seen catching most of his passes including the red zone ones from John Wolford and Bryce Perkins during training camp. Kupp made his spectacular grabs during team drills with Matthew Stafford feeding him the ball, despite Stafford battling elbow tendinitis in his throwing arm.
Then, Kupp would go on to become the still heavily targeted focal point of the Rams offense — with five games of 10 targets or more trough the first nine games per Pro Football Reference. And that was before Kupp’s season ended with an ankle injury. Robinson, meanwhile, was targeted between two to seven passes in all of his games with the Rams.
Robinson also never surpassed 64 receiving yards in all of his games in L.A. Kupp managed five 100-yard contests.
The 29-year-old Robinson will now aim to redeem himself in the state where he played his college football while also linking up with second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett and Pro Bowl running back Najee Harris. Kupp, meanwhile, has been seen in Thousand Oaks preparing for the upcoming season during the first week of the Rams’ offseason program.
Heatin’ up in LA! ☀️
Rams Draft Projection Stunner: Ivy League Standout Helps Replace Robinson
Now comes this, who do the Rams turn to as the No. 2 to Kupp?
Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, even last season’s preseason star Lance McCutcheon have a prime opportunity to work their way up in the offense. However, nfl.com draft analyst Chad Reuter on Friday has the Rams pulling off this stunner: They draft a towering WR, but it’s Princeton standout Andrei Iosivas at No. 135 in the fourth round.
The Tiger has not been thought of as a potential Rams option for the offense until now. Iosivas has near similar size to Robinsons at 6-foot-3, 205-pounds and comes with 4.43 speed in the 40-yard dash. Draft expert for nfl.com Lance Zierlein wrote in his overview: “Iosivas’ size, speed and athletic ability might not overwhelm NFL opponents, but those traits do give him a very real chance of battling for an NFL roster spot.”
The native of Honolulu saw his numbers spike each season at the Ivy League program — going from 18 grabs for 263 yards and scoring four touchdowns to ending his collegiate run with 66 receptions, 943 yards and seven touchdowns.