Most organized team activities in the NFL are voluntary until mandatory minicamps in June. But a veteran new to a team tends to show up to prove they are happy to be a new teammate. The Seattle Seahawks' Cooper Kupp showed up. The New England Patriots' Stefon Diggs has missed at least one practice.
This isn't going to be about whatever Diggs did or did not do on a boat in a viral video. We do know he missed an OTA after the video was seen on social media.
This is about Seattle making the right decision to sign one 31-year-old receiver (Kupp) over another (Diggs) in free agency this offseason. Both can be good receivers, but one is a better teammate.
Seahawks made right decision going with Cooper Kupp over Stefon Diggs in free agency
Kupp has not only shown up to voluntary activities, but he appeared in what he said was the best shape of his life. He is not only ready to help on the field, but in the locker room, too. Seattle has an increasingly younger roster (11 draft picks will do that) and needs veteran leadership.
Kupp is that leader, and Diggs is not.
Kupp also should be the better fit in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system. He is going to be a high-level, willing blocker, and he is going to do the same things to help his team win. This is what he has done throughout his career.
What the Seahawks don't need in year two of Mike Macdonald head coaching tenure is a distraction. Kupp is never going to be that, and Diggs already is with the Patriots. With the Houston Texans in 2024, Diggs appeared to be a good teammate; however, in previous stops, he found a way to work his way out after not wanting to be with the team.
Kupp and Diggs are different players when joining their new teams. Diggs is going to want the ball, and he is going to want to produce, and if he doesn't like the way things are going, he will find a way to complain. Yet, without complaining in New England, he has already found a way to be a distraction.
Kupp is going to help the Seahawks win games, and even if fellow wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is getting more of the targets, Kupp is not going to be a problem. If helping be a decoy or block for JSN means helping the team, Kupp will do so.
The Seahawks made the right signing by going with Kupp and not entertaining the idea of Diggs. The former Los Angeles Rams receiver is going to be good for the culture in Seattle. Diggs is causing issues with his team before even taking a real snap.