Seahawks sign Cooper Kupp
The expected move has been made
The Seattle Seahawks are signing veteran receiver Cooper Kupp to a 3-year, $45 million contract.
Schefter was first to mention Kupp as a Seahawks target and I posted some pros and cons to the addition that you can read here. My estimate was a 3-year, $39 million deal, so this goes slightly above that.
The short end of it is that Kupp was still productive for the Rams in the last few seasons because he was able to consistently make himself an open target for Matthew Stafford in the short to intermediate zones as a “power slot” receiver, and he works as hard as any player in the league according to various reputable sources.
In the downside, Kupp plays a role similar to JSN, which means Seattle has some problem solving to do with their number one receiver, and he has missed 18 games in the past three years, largely due to ongoing ankle issues. Kupp has “tight rope” surgery in 2022, a procedure that if nothing else always makes me think of a very painful scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.
While Kupp can’t be expected to carry an offense, the value of a receiver like Adam Thielen to the Panthers over the last two years at the same age does emphasize to me that there’s something to be gained from having a player like him in the locker room and on the field. The Seahawks financial expenditure here shouldn’t be ignored, nor overstated. This investment pales in comparison to the one that DK Metcalf wanted or that Tyler Lockett was due if he hadn’t been released.
This move does little to slow down John Schneider’s probable intention to draft a receiver — and/or receiving tight end like this one — early in 2025’s draft.
Kupp has seen his yards per game dip in three successive seasons:
2021: 114.5 yards per game
2022: 90.2 yards per game
2023: 61.4 yards per game
2024: 59.2 yards per game
He did take a backseat to Puka Nacua starting around the middle of 2023 — Nacua established himself as the new #1 in Week 1 while Kupp missed the first four games of the season — so Kupp could end up increasing his productivity this season with Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Share your thoughts on the Cooper Kupp signing — although many of you already did earlier this week, not with much approval:
Whatever the guaranteed money is, we can safely assume it’s more than $15 and less than $25. They didn’t secure Kupp without making him feel safe for multiple years, but not all 3. Any 3 year deal is a 2 year deal.
I would want to ask X and Os people: how much does the recent increase in condensed formations (I.e. more receivers playing close to the ball) impact Seattle’s decision to have 2 starting slot receivers?