The Los Angeles Rams will not have to attend lengthy to see large receiver Cooper Kupp once more. In actual fact, they will be seeing him at the very least twice a 12 months for the foreseeable future because the once-LA star agreed to a brand new contract with their NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks.
In response to ESPN, Kupp agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract with the Seahawks on Friday. The deal marks a homecoming for the 31-year-old receiver born and raised in Yakima, Washington, simply over two hours away from Seattle. Kupp acknowledged the deal on social media with a graphic exhibiting off what he’ll seem like in a Seahawks uniform.
Kupp additionally attended Japanese Washington College, the place he set information for the Japanese Washington Eagles soccer staff and helped make them three Big Sky Conference titles as a part of the NCAA Division I Soccer Championship Subdivision. The Rams then drafted Kupp within the third spherical of the 2017 draft, and he spent eight seasons with the staff earlier than being released on Wednesday after they didn’t commerce him.
For the Seahawks, that is about greater than bringing again a hometown hero; it is nonetheless about being aggressive. Seattle has undergone a whole makeover, with the staff buying and selling ex-quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and agreeing to a three-year, $100.5 million deal with quarterback Sam Darnold. The staff additionally launched WR Tyler Lockett and traded franchise star DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier than Kupp’s signing, the Seahawks didn’t have a receiver on their roster who recorded over 200 yards last season, other than No. 1 WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Kupp is a big step up from their present WR No. 2 choices. Nonetheless, the Seahawks are betting on Kupp regaining a few of his former glory. In 2021, Kupp turned the fourth triple crown winner since 1970 by making 145 receptions for 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Nonetheless, accidents derailed him sufficient that in 2024, he had an unimpressive 67 receptions for 710 yards and 6 touchdowns.
After giving Kupp a three-year, $80.1 million extension, the Rams appeared to get out of the contract by buying and selling him, however nobody wished to pay the $20 million he was owed. The Seahawks deal is value $15 million per 12 months, in line with The Athletic, which is substantial cash for a receiver perceived to be on the decline. Nonetheless, Kupp is a former Tremendous Bowl MVP who caught the game-winning landing within the Rams’ 23-20 Tremendous Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on the Rams’ very personal SoFi Stadium.
With Smith-Njigba and Kupp, Darnold will nonetheless have a aggressive large receiver duo within the NFC West. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford — and one in all Kupp’s finest mates — is 37 years previous. The San Francisco 49ers look like retooling after a disappointing 2024, and the Arizona Cardinals have but to succeed in their potential behind quarterback Kyler Murray.
The NFC West seems to be anybody’s division for the taking. With a wholesome Kupp trying to play for his house state and get revenge on the staff he thought he’d retire with, the star receiver may give the Seahawks the aggressive edge they want in 2025.
