By ANDREW DESTIN AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE — While Cooper Kupp donned a T-shirt on Thursday in vehement support of quarterback Sam Darnold, the veteran wide receiver simultaneously received heaps of praise from his teammates.
Four years removed from the most productive season of his career, Kupp will become the sixth player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl MVP, and then play in the Super Bowl with another team when he and the Seahawks square off with the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Unlike was the case in his prosperous 2021 season, Kupp didn’t win the AP Offensive Player of the Year award, nor the receiving triple crown in 2025.
But, Kupp endeared himself to teammates like Dareke Young during the veteran wideout’s first season with the Seahawks after eight exemplary ones with the Rams. Young has been most impressed with Kupp’s unselfishness while Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving yards.
“He won a Triple Crown, and then he comes and he’s wide receiver No. 2,” Young said. “Some receivers might not like that. But, you can’t tell if it upsets him or not. … That’s just a guy that you aspire to be like, that’s just team first.”
It isn’t just the way Kupp, 32, has embraced a secondary role that has stood out most to Young and others. Rather, it’s how Kupp has led by example in myriad ways, which in the build-up to Super Bowl unsurprisingly deals with his preparation.
“You got to go through your process,” Kupp said. “And right now, it’s about handling our business.”
And whenever Kupp does speak up with his teammates, it’s often worthwhile – like when he took the time to explain a play during Thursday morning’s round of interviews.
“If he does say things, he’s one of those guys where the entire room is dead silent, and they’re super focused on what he’s saying because we know that he doesn’t waste his breath,” Darnold said. “He’s always going to be able to say something very mindful, and for us, speaking for the players, but also the coaches, he’s had a huge impact on all of us in that building.”
What Kupp has been best known for in his first year in the Emerald City is his run-blocking. On a team that finished the season with the 10th-most rushing yards per game, Kupp set the standard for what was expected of receivers on the perimeter despite his 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame.
“Coop isn’t a guy that lifts the whole weight room,” Young said. “So, his technique is just always perfect, or has to be perfect when dealing with bigger guys so he doesn’t get thrown around.”
Smith-Njigba praised Kupp, who has 681 catches for 8,369 yards receiving and 59 touchdowns in his NFL career, for being so willing to put his body on the line. It’s especially commendable from his teammates’ perspectives considering injuries plagued Kupp over his last three years with the Rams, which contributed to the team releasing him last season.
This year in Seattle, Kupp’s practice repetitions were limited to help him get through a full season, which he nearly did while playing 16 out of 17 games and amassing the second-most yards receiving on the team with 593.
Kupp hasn’t just been an inspiration for younger teammates like Rashid Shaheed, who used to watch highlights of him while he was a four-time FCS All-America wide receiver at Eastern Washington. Kupp has also provided the blueprint for how to replicate, or at least achieve similar success.
“Being his teammate, I see how he’s had so much success throughout his whole career,” Shaheed said. “Man, he’s so smart. I try to take bits and pieces from not only practice film, but from what he says in the meeting room. It’s like having another coach on the field. He’s an amazing guy.”
And Kupp isn’t interested in hanging up his cleats any time soon. He brushed aside any questions about him contemplating retirement, and offensive lineman Grey Zabel fully expects Kupp to continue playing for “many years” thanks to his football IQ.
It would be quite the swan song if Kupp were to go out on top with his second Super Bowl championship and forgo the 2026 season. He might not be the star of the show for this Super Bowl the way he was in 2022, but Kupp has been around the block enough to know how to advise the Seahawks’ prodigal wide receiver on how to handle himself ahead of the big game.
“He just tells me to be myself and just control the storm, the Super Bowl storm and make sure you’re ready,” Smith-Njigba said. “He’s always preached process over results, so just sticking to the process and making sure I nail it down and I get up Sunday ready to go.”
