Seahawks' Cooper Kupp sees room for growth in Year 2 in Seattle

RENTON - Cooper Kupp's signing with the Seahawks in March 2025 was billed as something of a homecoming.

And technically it was, with the Yakima native coming back to his home state to play for the team he grew up watching after spending eight years in Los Angeles with the Rams.

But in more practical terms, Kupp couldn't help but spend much of the year feeling like the new kid in town as he adjusted to a new team, coach, offensive system and training facility for the first time in his NFL career.

And along with all that adjusting he was still grappling with the emotions of having been cut by the Rams, a team he often said he figured he would play for his entire career.

"There were some really tough times this year for my family and I, Kupp said at the end of the season.

It was a season that ended on the highest professional note possible as Kupp helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title, his second as a player and for the Seahawks as a franchise.

Now, as Kupp enters his second season with the Seahawks, Seattle appears to finally feel like home.

"Coming in knowing people, knowing how to get around the facility (the VMAC), knowing how to get to the facility, having a house, having a home - all those things (feel) very different this year," Kupp said following the Seahawks OTA (Organized Team Activity) Thursday afternoon.

"And obviously knowing a little bit about the guys, how things are run here, how (coach) Mike (Macdonald) operates, how we operate as a team, all the stuff that goes into functioning at a high level and just being a little bit ahead is definitely helpful."

All of which might help Kupp become a bigger part of the offense from day one in 2026 than a year ago, when he finished with 47 receptions for 593 yards, each the lowest totals of his career other than his second season in 2018 when he played only eight games because of an ACL injury. He scored a career-low two touchdowns.

He was more statistically productive in the postseason with 15 receptions in three games for 157 yards, leading the Seahawks with six catches for 61 yards in the Super Bowl win over New England.

Still, Kupp's age (he turns 33 on June 15) alone was enough for some to wonder if he might have considered winning a second Super Bowl as a good way to cap his NFL career.

Kupp said he gave no consideration to retiring.

"Oh no, never for a second," he said. "I'm loving playing this game too much and I just love playing so I'm enjoying it. So no, there was never a thought."

Any question about his immediate future seemed answered in February when $9 million of his 2026 base salary of $12.99 million became fully guaranteed.

As that date approached, some wondered if the Seahawks might move on from Kupp given some of their other contractual challenges this offseason.

The Seahawks have stressed continuity this offseason and made clear that Kupp became a significant locker-room leader in just his first year with the team.

"Cooper is an absolute force multiplier," Macdonald said of Kupp following the Super Bowl. "An absolute stud of a person, stud of a teammate. This should cement him in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. Super Bowl MVP (in 2022 with the Rams), two-time champion, all-time great teammate."

So there never seemed a doubt on either side that Kupp would be back in 2026, the second season of a three-year deal worth up to $45 million that he signed in March 2025, and serving as a starting receiver.

Kupp has been on the field consistently throughout OTAs alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Rashid Shaheed.

All are adjusting to what are some minor tweaks to the offense under new coordinator Brian Fleury, who brought with him from San Francisco a similar offense to that of his predecessor, Klint Kubiak, now head coach of the Raiders.

Kupp says having a bit of new isn't a bad thing as the Seahawks look to repeat as Super Bowl champs.

"It's like, ‘Hey we can get better,'" he said. "We can scrutinize, we can dive into things, and just because something worked (last year) that doesn't mean that we can't still find ways to improve on it."

In that regard, Kupp has a unique perspective, going through what turned out to be a trying 2022 season with the Rams the year after they won the Super Bowl. Los Angeles finished 5-12 that season, the most losses ever for a defending champ.

Kupp said Thursday he's not sure there's a lot for the Seahawks to learn from that season other than to try to avoid injuries.

Starting QB Matthew Stafford played just nine games that year because of injury as the Rams had to start four QBs, while Kupp played just nine games and standout defensive tackle Aaron Donald only 11.

L.A.'s offensive line was so beat up that the Rams started 11 different combinations up front through the first 11 games, the first team since at least 1970 to suffer that fate.

Kupp noted that the Rams could hardly field a full squad for OTAs that year compared to how the Seahawks have most of their key players available now.

"In that regard, what's been great is being able to come back here, guys are healthy, guys are competing and it's been some really good work and moving forward being able to chase something special here," Kupp said.

And echoing Macdonald's "run it forward" mantra, Kupp says the future and a team that now truly feels like home is his focus as well.

"It was a really cool journey," he said of last season. "Incredible looking back on it, all the highs and lows and things like that. But all that being said, it's great being here now, being here with the guys, understanding that there's a relationship, there's a lot of continuity going into the year, a lot of built trust and a lot of camaraderie that I think has carried in and made coming in here this year a really good feeling.

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