Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford didn’t take long to become great friends after the two joined forces with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Sure, they spent a lot of time together in practice and on game days, but they also put in extra work outside of meetings and team obligations. Kupp even estimated that he and Stafford spent 500 extra hours together during the 2021 season.
That hasn’t stopped as they approach Year 3 as teammates. They’re still close, even living nearby so they can hang out more often.
Kupp has a home gym that Stafford uses every now and then, but he might want to limit how much Stafford comes over after a recent mishap. Kupp told Rams Wire in a phone interview Wednesday that Stafford broke his tank sled the other day, but he’s not going to charge his quarterback for it.
“Yeah, we do,” Kupp said of whether he and Stafford train together in this part of the offseason. “We’ll get together. As you get closer, that kind of stuff ramps up. He actually comes through here and works out at my gym every once in a while. He actually broke my tank sled the other day. I’m pretty in debt with him, though, so I’m not going to charge him for it. I’ll just take care of it myself. It just wasn’t ready for the power that he was putting out. He’s so strong, it wasn’t ready for that. He comes through and does some stuff. We live close to each other so we see each other often and our kids are similar ages so it’s fun. It’s just fun being able to be around not only your friends, but hey, this is who I work with, as well. So it’s fun to be able to do life with the people we have on this team.”
Kupp, who spoke on behalf of his partnership with Sleep Number, also talked about what’s impressed him most about Stafford in their first two seasons together. Obviously, Stafford has a cannon of an arm and can make every throw on the field, but it’s his ability to read a defense and quickly process what’s happening that makes him special.
Kupp doesn’t think there’s a quarterback who can see the field and get through his progressions the way Stafford does, and that comes from a lot of film study and preparation.
“On the field, his ability to process. There’s not many people in this league that can just drop back consistently and win you games by dropping back over and over and over again. He’s someone that can do that,” Kupp said. “His ability to see the field, process what’s happening and get to guys is unmatched. He works very hard at it. It’s something you see in terms of how he watches film. The same way he watches film is how he processes things on the field. As soon as the play pops up, boom, he sees what’s happening, he’s got a plan, he’s able to put that to words, like, ‘Hey, this is what I see, this is what’s happening.’ And you see it in the offseason. His intentionality with keeping up with his body and being put in positions to go out there and play. Obviously, this year, got banged, things outside of your control that you can’t prepare for. But the way he prepares himself and the work he puts in in the offseason is a pretty special thing, especially being in this league for as long as he has. That intentionality has not changed.”
Kupp and Stafford both missed time in 2022 due to injury, which played a big part in the Rams’ overall struggles on offense. They were a historically great tandem in their first year together in 2021, with Kupp winning the receiving triple crown, Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP.
They’ll look to reclaim that form in 2023 when both are healthy again.
