NFL careers usually end with a whimper, not a roar. One day you're the Triple Crown winner, and the next, you're the guy that "experts" on Twitter say is too expensive and too slow. But if you think Cooper Kupp is ready to hang up the cleats just because the Rams decided to turn the page, you haven't been paying attention.
Cooper Kupp says he wants to play in 2025, and honestly, he didn't just say it—he shouted it.
"Do I want to play next year? Oh yeah," Kupp told reporters while cleaning out his locker in early January 2025. "There’s no doubt in my mind I want to play football. I feel like I’ve got a lot of good football left in me."
It's been a wild ride. We're talking about a guy who literally had the greatest wide receiver season in the history of the sport in 2021. But the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately" business, and for the Rams, the answer was "not enough to justify a $29.7 million cap hit."
The messy breakup with the Los Angeles Rams
Let’s be real: nobody expected it to go down like this. Kupp has been the heartbeat of Sean McVay’s offense since 2017. He was the guy Matthew Stafford looked for whenever a play broke down. So when Kupp took to social media on February 3, 2025, to announce that the Rams were seeking a trade, it felt like a gut punch to the city of Los Angeles.
Kupp didn't hide his feelings. He flat-out said he didn't agree with the decision. He always thought he’d be a "Rams lifer," beginning and ending his career in the horns. But the Rams front office, led by Les Snead, has never been one for sentimentality. They traded Jared Goff. They cut Todd Gurley. They moved Robert Woods. If the math doesn't work, you're out.
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The math for 2025 was ugly. Kupp was scheduled to take up nearly $30 million in cap space. Meanwhile, Puka Nacua had effectively taken over as the WR1, and the team was looking at expensive options like Davante Adams to fill the void. McVay called it a "football decision," which is coach-speak for "we need the money elsewhere."
Seattle Seahawks and the "Home State" revival
When the Rams couldn't find a trade partner that worked for everyone, they released him. And that’s where things got interesting.
Instead of chasing a ring in a random city, Kupp headed back to his roots. He signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks. For a guy who grew up in Yakima and played his college ball at Eastern Washington, it was a homecoming.
- Contract Details: $17.5 million fully guaranteed at signing.
- The Fit: Playing alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DK Metcalf (before Metcalf's own trade drama).
- The Motivation: Facing the Rams twice a year.
Kupp's first season in Seattle hasn't been a statistical explosion—he's been playing more of a secondary role to JSN—but he's been healthy for the most part. Well, until a hamstring and heel issue cropped up in November 2025. That's always been the knock on him lately. Since that legendary 2021 season, he's struggled to stay on the field for a full 17-game slate.
Is he actually "cooked" or just unlucky?
Critics love to point at the production dip. In 2024, his final year with the Rams, he finished with 67 catches for 710 yards. Those are solid numbers for a WR2, but they aren't "Cooper Kupp" numbers. In the final five games of that regular season, he only had 12 catches.
But you've gotta look at the tape.
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Even when the production wasn't there, Kupp was still winning his matchups. He was still the smartest guy on the field. The Rams just weren't looking his way as much because Stafford was hyper-focused on Nacua.
In Seattle, the volume has been lower, but the efficiency is still there. He’s catching over 72% of the balls thrown his way. He’s the safety blanket for a Seahawks offense that has gone through some serious transition. The "elite" separation might not be what it was when he was 27, but his "football IQ" separation is still top-tier.
What 2025 holds for the former MVP
Kupp will be 32 when the 2025 season kicks off. In wide receiver years, that’s getting up there. But he’s playing with a massive chip on his shoulder. He explicitly mentioned being "highly motivated" and "as healthy as ever" during his training camp preparations.
The Seahawks took a gamble that his veteran leadership and third-down reliability would stabilize a young locker room. So far, it’s been a mixed bag due to the recent injuries, but his impact on players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba is undeniable.
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Kupp’s legacy in LA is secure. He’s a Super Bowl MVP. He’s a Triple Crown winner. But he clearly doesn't want that to be the final chapter of his story. He wants to prove that he can be a focal point of a winning offense outside of the Sean McVay bubble.
Actionable Insights for the 2025 Season:
- Monitor his health closely: If you're looking at his impact for next season, his ability to manage the soft-tissue injuries (hamstrings/heels) that plagued his 2024 and 2025 campaigns is the only thing that matters.
- Watch the Seahawks' usage: Kupp has transitioned from a high-volume target monster to a "high-leverage" specialist. He’s the guy you want on 3rd & 6, not necessarily the guy you expect 150 yards from every Sunday.
- Rams vs. Seahawks games: Mark these on your calendar. Kupp has already admitted that playing his former team is a "nice little bonus" and he clearly wants to show the Rams front office what they gave up on.
Kupp knows the end is closer than the beginning. But for now, he’s still running those precise routes and finding the soft spots in the zone. As long as he’s on the field, defenses have to account for #10.