When Cooper Kupp became a free agent, the Seattle Seahawks quickly expressed interest. On top of selling the Yakima native on returning to his home state, the pitch from coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider emphasized what Kupp felt was the key to constructing a contender.
“The messaging was right on par with what I thought (about) how you build a championship team — it’s about the people,” Kupp said during Tuesday’s news conference. “You focus on bringing good people that are about ball and all the other stuff is going to fall into place. That was the mindset. We’re trying to get solid people that know how to work, that are about playing this game the right way.
“I know that’s how you build a good team. The best teams I’ve been a part of have been built that way. That excited me.”
Kupp, who turns 32 in June, officially signed his contract Tuesday afternoon. It’s a three-year deal worth $45 million, league sources said (full contract terms are not yet available). The Rams attempted to trade Kupp before eventually releasing him. Kupp said there was “not a ton of clarity” as to why the Rams decided to move on.
He called the last few months “very difficult and frustrating” but he’s grateful for his eight seasons in Los Angeles and “very excited about what the future holds here in Seattle.”
Family matters
Cooper’s grandfather, Jake, played as an offensive lineman for 12 years in the NFL, nine with the New Orleans Saints. Cooper’s father, Craig, was a quarterback who made a brief cameo in the pros, which wiped out the Saints fandom in the family. Craig later gravitated toward the local team and raised a household of Seahawks fans, which made it weird when the division rival Rams drafted Cooper in 2017.
“It’s great to be back in the Hawks camp,” Craig Kupp said.
The Cooper Kupp cheering section at the Rams’ annual trip to Seattle typically featured a “big pretty crew” seated “way up in the rafters,” Craig said. Now their fandom finally matches the jersey their son will wear.
“To be able to be aligned, it’s going to be really nice,” Craig said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Cooper Kupp recalled attending Seahawks games as a fan, his first as a teenager in 2006 and another while he was a student-athlete at Eastern Washington in 2011. The latter featured a memorable — and prophetic — exchange with his father.
“Baltimore came to town, and I was able to be right next to the tunnel as Ray Lewis ran out,” Cooper said.” My dad tapped me like, ‘Hey, you think you can play in the NFL?’ I looked at Ray Lewis and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I can play.'”
Familiar faces
Kupp will reunite in Seattle with linebacker Ernest Jones IV, his teammate in Los Angeles for three years, including their 2021 Super Bowl season. Jones, who arrived in Seattle via midseason trade and recently signed a three-year extension, gave the team a ringing endorsement.
“Ernest talked a lot about how he came in here, the way he was welcomed in and the way the guys went to work, the communication they have, the way they operate as one on defense,” Kupp said. “That’s a huge thing defensively. Defenses only work if you’re playing as one unit. He just had incredible things to say about his time here last year with the guys.”
Kupp will again work with passing game coordinator Jake Peetz, a Rams assistant during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Peetz worked closely with the wide receivers in Los Angeles and, Kupp said, was “a huge part in just the way that we operated.”
“The concepts, the purpose behind what we’re doing, it’s the details, it’s those little things that make the difference,” Kupp continued, “and he was in that room to make sure that that stuff was communicated from the top down, how we’re doing these things and being able to make sure that we’re in positions to understand what the ‘why’ is behind the concepts that we’re running.
“(I’m) real thankful for him and just his knowledge of the game, from a defensive side, from an offensive side, how we’re manipulating things defensively and what we’re trying to accomplish offensively. That stuff goes a long way.”
Jersey exchange
Kupp will wear No. 10 in Seattle like he did with the Rams. He took the number from Uchenna Nwosu in exchange for a donation to the outside linebacker’s foundation. Nwosu will switch to No. 7, quarterback Geno Smith’s old number.
Allow him to re-introduce himself. pic.twitter.com/ir6KcraYqP
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) March 18, 2025
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
