SEATTLE — Maybe it would be different if Cooper Kupp had even one vindictive bone in his body.
Maybe then the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver would lean into the scorned lover angle of Sunday’s NFC Championship game matchup between his Seahawks and former flame, the Rams.
The same Rams for whom Kupp spilled blood and sacrificed body parts for while coming up with 634 catches for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns in seven illustrious seasons.
Only to get kicked to the curb last March in a cost-cutting move more fit for a journeyman linebacker than one of the most beloved and productive players in franchise history.
There isn’t a person on the planet who would blame him, either. At least anyone with an ounce of honor or conscience. Kupp has every right to be feeling a certain way about Sunday’s grudge match, and the opportunity it gives him to stick it to his ex in a most powerful and meaningful way.
Alas, Kupp ain’t that guy.
So don’t waste your time waiting for a juicy social media post in which he goes all scorched earth on everyone. You can forget about any passive aggressive sound bites that clues everyone in that he’s packing major heat and prepared to take everyone down on Sunday.
From the Rams’ powers to be right on down to Matthew Stafford, the Rams quarterback he shared a tight bond with and teamed with to win a Super Bowl title with four years ago.
Not Kupp’s style.
His backstory is exactly that: a thing of the past.
How he ended up here, the whys and emotions and even the pain of it, is no more poignant or meaningful than how Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold got to Seattle, or wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, or defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
“You take things one day at a time,” Kupp said. “I mean, I’ve touched on this a little bit, but we all have a story. All these guys here that will step on this field, they’ve all had a story to get them to this point. They’ve all had a journey to what this year’s been for them, what the last few years have been to come to this point.”
To make it all about him, or even a little bit, is the kind of dishonor Kupp has rejected his entire life.
Even when Kupp was an overlooked high school recruit playing at Eastern Washington, knowing full well he should have been playing in the SEC, Big 10, or Pac-12, he never let his mind or spirit go to dark or resentful places.
He never complained once when the NFL doubted him so much that he had to wait until the third round of the 2017 draft before hearing his name called by the Rams. Kupp was a four-time consensus FCS All-American and accumulated 6,464 receiving yards and 73 touchdowns on 428 catches at Eastern Washington, for crying out loud, yet 68 players got drafted before him.
Kupp just shook it off like no big thing.
Everyone has their story. Including each player he shares a work space with each day, including Sunday.
“Mine is just one of 53 that are going to be on that field,” Kupp said.
Not that he’s not aware of the crazy turn of events of the last 11 months that uprooted him from Southern California, where he planned on remaining his entire career, only to end up with his home state Seahawks and a chance to punch a Super Bowl ticket while simultaneously taking out the Rams.
“This is an unbelievable storyline, the chances of this ends up being what it is,” Kupp said. “And I’m really excited about that.”
But that is about as far as he will go, choosing instead to focus on the role he plays for the Seahawks, for whom he had 47 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns, helped bring along Smith-Njigba and was a great resource for Darnold.
“This is the Seahawks going into an NFC Championship game and trying to get the job done. So that’s the great thing about football. It’s all these guys,” Kupp said. “All these guys have different stories, and we all get to play for one another. I mean, it’s a powerful thing when all 50 guys are playing for their purpose. But it’s even more powerful when you’re playing for the guys next to you and the people lining up alongside you. And that’s what I’m excited about, is the guys that are in this room that you want to go out there and win for, the coaches that put so much time into this that you want to go and execute your job for. And we’ve got a lot of guys that live that, that are about it. And that’s what makes this a really exciting thing for me.”
No one appreciates that more than his teammates, many of whom have leaned on Kupp’s wisdom as a former Super Bowl champion.
“I think having a guy like Coop being as experienced as he is in the playoffs definitely helps,” said Darnold. “His leadership, as I always talk about, is crucial for our team.”
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald agreed.
“Of course you’re going to lean into what Coop says or his experience and what he thinks,” Macdonald said. “We’ve consulted him every step of the way, so this is kind of keeping it that. It’s not any different. It’s par for the course on how we operate. That’s how he sees it, sees it the same way. So, look, I always phrase it this way, if you said, ‘Okay, if you put yourself in the shoes of us, wouldn’t you want it to operate like that,’ you know? I think that just takes pressure off the guys so we can focus on doing what’s best for us.”
