More often, it doesn’t. More often, an ending is a hard thing. A one-sided thing, as Los Angeles Rams longtime star receiver Cooper Kupp has made clear over the last several weeks as the team worked with his representatives to first trade him, then ultimately released him Wednesday as the new league year began.

Kupp has seen his yards per target average go down each of the last three seasons, and it hit a career low at 7.1 yards in 2024. The signs of decline are there, and the combination of age, injury and decline is usually a hard one to overcome.