RENTON — Cooper Kupp showed up to day one at his new job dressed for the part.
On the day he signed his contract with the Seattle Seahawks and was introduced to media, he wore a flannel shirt with a Pearl Jam T-shirt tucked inside.
Why Pearl Jam?
“They’re from Seattle,” Kupp said to much laughter from a crowd of media, family and Seahawks coaches and staffers gathered in the auditorium in the VMAC.
Now so is Kupp after eight years of terrorizing the Seahawks as a member of the rival Los Angeles Rams.
“I just figured I’ve got a bunch of these old vintage grunge rock band tees. I might as well wear the Pearl Jam one today,” he said.
He noted that Pearl Jam’s first, and maybe most famous, album is called Ten, which is also Kupp’s number and will remain so.
Kupp worked out a deal with outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu, who has worn it the last three years, to donate to Nwosu’s foundation and allow Kupp to wear it as a Seahawk. Nwosu is switching to seven, his old high school number.
Now the question is whether Kupp will wear that number as well with the Seahawks as he did with the Rams, where he won a Super Bowl MVP award, an AP Offensive Player of the Year award and became the first player in NFL history to record 600-plus receptions, 7,500-plus receiving yards and 50-plus touchdowns in the first 100 games of his career.
The Seahawks are banking on it, agreeing to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million with Kupp last Friday as a key part of their effort to replace the production lost by the trade of DK Metcalf and release of Tyler Lockett.
That Kupp grew up in Yakima and played at Eastern Washington might have made the decision to come to Seattle a slam dunk in the eyes of many.
But the Seahawks had to ward off some serious attempts by other suitors that included the Dallas Cowboys, who according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, had quarterback Dak Prescott call Kupp as part of their recruiting pitch.
“Yeah, it was cool,” Kupp admitted of being recruited for a few days.
Kupp said the lure of playing close to home and the fit with the Seahawks — as well as a belief that the team is heading in the right direction — helped clinch the decision, which arrived about 50 hours after he was officially released by the Rams last Wednesday.
“It’s a really cool thing,” Kupp said. “Obviously growing up in Yakima, watching the Seattle Seahawks growing up, I’ve talked a lot about the memories and experiences. That’s kind of what football is. It’s remembering all those big moments. Walking through the halls back here, looking at these photos of iconic (players) — just moments in games and being able to recognize, ‘Man, I remember where I was when that happened, when that moment happened.’
“Growing up watching Seattle, watching football being a huge part of my life and then playing at Eastern Washington, (it’s a) full-circle moment coming back and being able to throw on a Seattle Seahawks uniform, it’s a really cool thing. It’s something I don’t take lightly.”
The Rams released Kupp with two years remaining on a three-year contract extension that was due to pay him an average of $26.7 million.
Kupp turns 32 on June 15 and has battled injuries the past few seasons that have limited him to just 33 of a possible 51 regular-season games since the 2021 season when he caught 145 passes for 1,947 yards.
Kupp revealed in early February that the Rams were attempting to trade him and that his days in L.A. were likely over.
“It’s been difficult,” said Kupp, who was drafted in the third round by the Rams in 2017 at 69th overall. “In all honesty, it’s been very difficult and frustrating and there’s been lots of questions. It’s a real tough situation. I’ve said, I’ve always imagined that I’d finish my career there. But that’s not what the plan was that God had for me and my family.”
Kupp’s salary precluded any trade happening, leading to last Wednesday’s release. The Seahawks, Kupp said, were in contact almost immediately.
“It was pretty quick in terms of expressing the interest once I was released,” he said. “I thought that as we went through things, I thought that the messaging from (coach) Mike (Macdonald) and from (general manager) John (Schneider), from Kubes (offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak), all the guys I talked to here, the messaging was right on par with what I thought was how you build a championship team. It’s about the people. You focus on bringing good people that are about ball, and all the other stuff is going to fall in place.”
Kupp said the fact that he’ll get a chance to play against the Rams twice a year “didn’t play into the decision to come here, but it’s a nice little thing on the side to be able to go against those guys.”
Kupp said showing anyone who doubts he can still play isn’t a motivation.
He said it’s just about showing it himself.
“It’s not about proving anyone else wrong, trying to make anyone else feel bad about anything,” he said. “It’s just about being myself and being who I believe I can be and going out there and playing the game I love.”
What he mostly wants to do is add another few memorable chapters to the story of his career for not only himself but his wife, Anna, and their three sons ages 6, 4 and 1.
“Stepping into this new adventure, this new place, this new chapter in my career but also in our lives as my wife and I navigate moving back up home, back up to our home state, I think that’s something that we’re excited about facing,” he said.
As is playing at Lumen Field this time with the fans on his side.
Rooting for the Seahawks is a feeling Kupp can relate to, saying he recalls attending a few games while growing up in Yakima.
His first, he said, was a Monday night game against Green Bay in 2006 when it snowed and Shaun Alexander rushed for 201 yards as the Seahawks beat the Packers 34-24.
“I was up in the very top frozen as an icicle up there,” he said. “But it was incredible watching Alexander went off. It was crazy. I feel like I got to miss school the next day, so it was like bonus points because I didn’t have to go to school the next day. But yeah, memories. I have memories of being there, being part of that environment, and it’s such a cool thing. That was a special thing growing up, to be able to go to a Seahawks game. A very special memory.”
Now to create a few more.