Cooper Kupp should have always been with the Seattle Seahawks. He is a Washington state native, and grew up a fan of the NFL team to the west of him. He also has the personality to fit the Seattle organization. Oh, and he has also been very productive in his career.
Unfortunately for 12s, all of Kupp's career had been spent with NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, before finally signing with the Seahawks this season. The wide receiver tortured former head coach Pete Carroll's teams, and even new head coach Mike Macdonald struggled with Kupp and the Rams in 2024.
Kupp's signing with Seattle last offseason was a win-win. For one, he was no longer with the Rams. Secondly, his leadership skills were needed on a young Seattle roster, one that Macdonald was still trying to reset the culture of. Kupp helped.
Seattle Seahawks' Cooper Kupp drops great honesty about his breakup with the Los Angeles Rams
Still, after spending eight years with the Rams and, of course, living in the Los Angeles area, many memories were going to be made. Leaving a place you've been for nearly a decade was always going to be difficult. What made it worse was leaving, but not by one's own decision.
The Rams wanted Kupp to retire. He didn't want to. The team released him instead.
Speaking to the media this week, just days before Kupp's Seahawks will play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, the wide receiver was asked about his years with LA. He spoke about how when he was just starting his career, veterans like Sammy Watkins and Tavon Watkins helped him learn his way.
But he also delivered a rather brutally beautiful summary of how things end with the team, the same as they end for many players with different teams: "You've got to be able to move forward and know that sometimes good things die and go away. And there's new things that can grow in their place."
Cooper Kupp was likely helped when he left the Los Angeles Rams by being able to return to close to where he grew up. The Seattle Seahawks were likely the best place he could go, but the team is lucky to have him, too. He's seen the 180 by playing the part of Watkins and Austin and helping young Seattle receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed.
Of course, the hope is that Kupp and the Seahawks find the perfect ending of the 2025 season together. A Super Bowl 60 victory against the Patriots would be the dream of everyone involved with the Seattle organization.