Wide receiver Cooper Kupp is returning to his home state to continue his stellar NFL career, per reports by multiple NFL insiders.
The former Super Bowl MVP and NFL Offensive Player of the Year is joining the Seattle Seahawks just days after being released by the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams. He is due to make $45 million over three years with Seattle, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
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The 31-year-old Kupp, a native of Yakima and former Eastern Washington star, was a third-round NFL Draft pick by the Rams in 2017 and immediately contributed, catching 62 passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie.
In 2019, Kupp topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark and reached double-digit touchdown catches for the first time.
His biggest season came in 2021, which also happened to be one of the best ever in NFL history by a receiver. He led the league with 145 catches, 1,947 receiving yards, 16 touchdown catches and 114.5 yards per game, earning Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Kupp continued his dominance in the postseason, leading all players in the playoffs with 33 catches, 478 receiving yards and six touchdowns. That included eight catches, 92 yards and two scores in a Super Bowl win over Cincinnati for which Kupp was named MVP.
In the years since, however, injuries have resulted in Kupp missing at least a third of each season. He’s still effective when on the field, as he caught 67 of 100 targets in 2024 for 710 yards and six TDs.
A pillar of this franchise and community. There will never be another like No. 10. pic.twitter.com/67isYdQFcz
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 12, 2025
A 6-foot-2, 207-pound slot receiver, Kupp currently is tied for 80th all-time on the NFL receptions leaderboard.
After Kupp’s historic 2021 season, the Rams signed him to a three-year, $80.1 million contract extension. But with a salary cap hip of almost $30 million for 2025, the Rams decided to clear space by shopping him to other teams before ultimately releasing him.
It was no secret that Kupp’s time in LA was coming to an end, as he announced in February that he had been told the Rams intended to trade him. The Rams officially released him at the start of the new NFL league year Wednesday.
Washington state sports royalty
Kupp was a multi-sport star at Yakima’s Davis High School, even helping the Pirates win a state 4A basketball championship in 2012 that included a victory along the way over a Bothell team led by future NBA All-Star Zach LaVine. Kupp went on to a record-setting college football career for the Eastern Washington Eagles in Cheney, then became a third-generation NFL player.
He’s followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Jake Kupp, a Sunnyside High School and UW Huskies product who is in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame as an offensive lineman, and his father Craig Kupp, a Selah High School alum who spent time with three NFL teams as a quarterback after a college career at Pacific Lutheran.
Cooper Kupp is now set to become the first of his family to play in the NFL for the team in their home state.
Kupp in Seattle
Seattle has had a need at receiver since moving on from two of the best at the position in franchise history: Tyler Lockett, who was released earlier this month after a decade with the Seahawks, and DK Metcalf, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They signed deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling earlier this week in free agency to a one-year contract to fill a role similar to Metcalf, while Kupp plays the position more in line with Lockett’s skillset.
Seattle returns Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a 2023 first-round pick and their leading receiver in 2024, at the position along with Jake Bobo.
Smith-Njigba immediately reacted on social media to the news of Kupp coming to Seattle.
Cooooooooooooppppp
— JSN (@jaxon_smith1) March 14, 2025
A pair of Seattle Sports voices, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus, have called Kupp a fit for the Seahawks under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
“He’d be a great fit in this scheme,” Huard said. “Just all the elements that you use as a blocker. All the elements you use in play-action.”
Bumpus also pointed to Kupp’s ability to block as a positive.
“The offense is similar to what (Rams head coach Sean) McVay is running out there in LA,” Bumpus said. “… I think he would fit, man. Just catch a whole bunch of first downs, stay as healthy as possible, and be the blocker that you are in the run game because receivers are going to have to block in this Kubiak offense.”
"I think he would fit, man." 👀@michaelbumpus5 says yes to the #Seahawks bringing Cooper Kupp.
📰: https://t.co/hs6YwlffBV https://t.co/vcndsS9HLX pic.twitter.com/Eic1WkN7bJ
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) March 12, 2025
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