Schefter: Patriots among teams to watch as Kupp weighs options originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots have spent a ton of money in NFL free agency so far, but they have yet to address arguably the No. 1 weakness on their roster: Wide receiver.

The best wideout available is Cooper Kupp, who was released Wednesday by the Los Angeles Rams in a cost-cutting move. Kupp had a great eight-year run with the Rams that included a Super Bowl title in the 2021 season, and now he must decide where he wants to write the next chapter of his career.

Which teams could be in the mix for Kupp now that he’s a free agent?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter mentioned a few teams, including the New England Patriots, during a SportsCenter segment Wednesday.

“By 4:01 p.m. ET, his phone lines were lighting up. At least a dozen teams have called in and expressed interest in exploring a deal with Cooper Kupp,” Schefter said.

“He’s going to have a multitude of options from teams that declined to trade for him and the contract he had with the Rams but are interested in signing Kupp to a contract of their own. There’ll be any number of possibilities, but teams that bear watching here include the Seattle Seahawks, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, among others. Cooper Kupp is going to have options.”

The Patriots need a player like Kupp not only because he’s still very productive when healthy, but his leadership and professionalism would be good for the young wideouts in New England to observe.

The Seahawks would be a good fit, too. They recently released veteran wideout Tyler Lockett and traded star wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle needs a lot of help at wide receiver.

The Broncos are an interesting potential landing spot. They exceeded expectations last season and made their first playoff appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 campaign. Adding another proven pass-catcher for young quarterback Bo Nix to target makes a lot of sense.

Kupp tallied 67 receptions for 710 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games last season.

Durability is the primary concern with Kupp at this stage of his career. He has missed five games in each of the last two seasons, and he has played only two full seasons since making his pro debut in 2017.