The Seattle Seahawks earned their fourth Super Bowl berth in franchise history with a 31-27 victory in the NFC championship game Sunday. Veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp played a large role during the second half of the win.
Ironically, it came at the expense of Kupp’s former team, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Athletic’s Michael Silver reported Monday the Rams not only “discarded” their former Super Bowl MVP last offseason but encouraged the receiver to end his football career. Then when he didn’t, according to Kupp, the Rams tried to destroy his free agency market.
“After the 2024 season, rather than trying to negotiate a salary reduction with the former All-Pro, the Rams had unceremoniously cut ties, urging him to retire,” Silver wrote. “As Kupp approached free agency, sources say, he came to believe that some L.A. officials had cautioned potential suitors against paying him anything more than the veteran minimum, suggesting that age and an accumulation of injuries had provoked a steep decline.”
Silver added, “Some potential suitors expressed doubt about signing him because of what they’d heard in league circles — which his camp believed came from the Rams.”
Kupp is far from the player he once was. But he proved again in Seattle’s NFC championship victory against Los Angeles why he’s still valuable.
Kupp caught all four of his second half targets Sunday. One went for the eventual game-winning 13-yard touchdown. Another Kupp reception converted a key third down late in the fourth quarter.
“Kupp also did many of the little things that casual observers don’t notice, but that his coaches and teammates cherish,” Silver wrote. “The bottom line is that without Kupp, Seattle likely would not be heading for a Super Bowl LX showdown with the New England Patriots on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif.”
Cooper Kupp, Ernest Jones IV Beat Former Team to Reach Super Bowl
It’s important to note that Silver reported Kupp remains on good terms with Rams head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kupp and Stafford embraced on the field after the NFC championship game Sunday.
But Kupp told Silver things with the Rams didn’t end “in a good place.” It started when Kupp slowly became an afterthought in the Los Angeles offense. It may have reached a boiling point for the receiver when “the most powerful people in the Rams’ organization” didn’t call Kupp to thank him for his Los Angeles tenure last offseason.
Over eight years, Kupp played 104 games with the Rams, catching 634 passes for 7,776 receiving yards and 57 touchdowns. He put together one of the greatest seasons ever for a wideout in 2021 with a NFL-high 145 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 scores.
Kupp capped off that campaign with the Super Bowl MVP trophy.
“They were done with him,” Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV told Silver. “(The Rams said), ‘He’s not worth it.’ They said that about a lot of us.”
Like Kupp, the Rams cast aside Jones, who started seven games as a rookie for the Rams in their 2021 Super Bowl season. Los Angeles traded Jones to the Tennessee Titans in 2024.
In another ironic twist of fate for the Rams, Jones helped recruit Kupp to Seattle. With the Seahawks, Kupp signed a 3-year, $45 million deal.
Kupp Fumble Caused Elevator Altercation Between Rams, Seahawks Coaches
The discontent for Kupp appears to remain on the Los Angeles coaching staff. When the Seahawks coaching staff discovered that fact, Seattle used it to its advantage.
In his report Monday, Silver revealed rather shocking details about an elevator altercation that occurred between the Seahawks and Rams during the team’s second regular season matchup.
“Witnesses said several Rams assistants were discussing [a Kupp] fumble in question as they neared the elevator. One offensive coach asked which Seattle player had been responsible, and when another replied that it was Kupp, the coach snickered as though he expected the answer,” wrote Silver.
“The drew the ire of Seahawks outside linebackers coach Chris Partridge, whose enraged response caused Rams defensive pass rush coordinator Drew Wilkins to yell back at him. Partridge, witnesses said, had to be held back by other Seahawks coaches in the packed elevator, averting a possible skirmish.
“After the Seahawks coaches entered the locker room, word of the incident got back to some players, many of whom became motivated to defend Kupp’s honor.”
In Silver’s story, that was the third mistake the Rams made involving Kupp over the past year. One could argue all of them led to a Seahawks victory and Rams NFC championship loss.
Rams Accused of Sabotage With Cooper Kupp as Seahawks Reach Super Bowl: Report