Since the Rams released Kupp in March, he’s found a new home in the Pacific Northwest. Kupp’s production falls slightly below the rate he established over his final few injury-plagued seasons with the Rams, but he’s happy to fill a secondary role alongside current NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
It’s working out just fine for the Seahawks, who at 7-2 represent one of the NFL’s leading Super Bowl contenders. They’ll meet another in the Rams (7-2) in a highly anticipated clash of title chasing squads.
To Kupp, that is what matters most. Though the pain of his split may still linger, he’d prefer the focus not fall on him entering Week 11.
“You can’t make this game about yourself,” Kupp said. “It just doesn’t work that way. It’s just too much of a team game. There’s too many guys on the field doing too many things, working at such a high level. It’s just about controlling what you can control, being a positive part of whatever’s called and executing at a high level and coming back and doing it over and over again.
“It would just be a shame to say I want this game more than any other game. That’s doing a disservice to the guys that sit in this room with me, that I would hold back anything from them [for] my own ambitions or wants.”
Both Kupp and his former coach Sean McVay hit all the notes typical in a reunion game, expressing gratitude for player, coach, team and city. Kupp added he finally gained the clarity he sought from the Rams when they initially informed him of their desire to move on, which provided him with much-needed closure.
“I was able to have some conversations in private with people in the organization to try to get to that point,” he said. “It was important. It was important enough for me to reach out and try to get that. I’m glad to be in that place. I’m looking forward to being able to see some people pregame, give them a hug, and then when it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”