Cooper Kupp just wrapped up his sixth season in the NFL, which is hard to believe. It feels like not long ago he was a fan-favorite rookie with the Rams, living up to the hype in his first season as a pro.
After missing part of the 2022 campaign with an ankle injury, Kupp is looking to bounce back next season with a performance more in line with his record-setting year in 2021. The first objective is getting healthy and recovering from the grind of the season.
Rams Wire caught up with Kupp this week to talk about his offseason plan, the return of Sean McVay, facing Jalen Ramsey in practice, Raheem Morris’ coaching candidacy and more. Kupp spoke on behalf of Sleep Number, who he’s partnered with to educate people on the importance of quality sleep.
What’s your offseason process like? Are you training at the facility or on your own?
Kupp: “A little bit of a mixed bag. There’s time at the facility being with our training staff. Not just the strength trainers, but being with the sports trainers and being able to get your body right. There’s an emphasis on getting your body back to where it needs to be so you can go out and train and do the things you need to do on the football field and the weight room. There’s a little bit of a balance between those two things. You don’t want to start going so early with the weight training and things like that where your body is able to get back and recover from the rigors of the season. There’s a little bit of a balance of both those things. It’s also a balancing act of you’re just away for so long during the season from your family, being able to find time with them. I’m at my best when I’m balanced and I’ve got a good balance of football stuff going on, but also family stuff. So I try to walk the line of those two things.”
What’s your favorite thing to do during the offseason, besides training?
Kupp: “Being with my family, being with my wife and my boys. Being outside, going to parks. Just being a dad. Throwing the ball around with the boys. June’s doing some flag football stuff now, so going out there and coaching some 4-year-olds and corral them and keep them on the football field. Things like that. Things that you don’t get to do when you’re at the facility all day.”
Do you and Matthew Stafford get together to work in the offseason or not yet?
Kupp: “Yeah, we do. 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.”
What’s impressed you most about Matthew Stafford in the last two seasons?
Kupp: “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. 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.”
How glad are you to have Sean McVay back?
Kupp: “I’m pumped. Obviously an incredible coach. Having a coach like that that is so well-versed and so articulate and able to communicate as well as he does, going along with the knowledge of the game that he has is a special thing that you don’t want to lose. On top of that, just being a great friend, bring a guy I’ve spent six years with now. Have a great relationship with him. Being able to have a guy like that come back when you’re going to the facility, you’re enjoying the people you’re going to work with. That’s a special thing to have at work and I’m really glad to be able to get another year with him.”
What’s the most challenging thing about playing in McVay’s offense?
Kupp: “You gotta be able to think quick, gotta be able to stay on stuff. You can’t sit there and think about what you’re gonna do. You gotta come up with that plan pretty quickly because he likes to go fast, he likes to have a lot of different stuff up. That’s one of the things. And being able to understand that everything he does is purposeful and there’s an intention behind everything he calls. Trying to be on that same brainwave. There might be a reason he’s calling something and how he wants it to play out, like your release pattern and all this different stuff. Trying to be on that same wave and see things the way he’s seeing them as they’re called. It also helps you that much more.”
What makes Raheem Morris such a good head coaching candidate?
Kupp: “Raheem, his ability to connect with players is maybe unmatched. Also very knowledgeable. His humility, as well. Being able to be in a place where he’s done this for a long time, he’s coached a lot of different positions, offensively and defensively. his knowledge of the game is substantial. But being in a place where he’s humbled to the fact of knowing he doesn’t have everything figured out, which I think is such an incredible trait to have as a coach and such an important one. Say, ‘Hey, I don’t have the answers and there’s a reason we have so many other coaches and football minds around.’ His willingness to listen and hear his players and coaches and work with the guys he has around and under him. He’s a very special coach. I want him to have an opportunity to be a head coach somewhere because I think he would do an incredible job. I really hope he doesn’t leave the Rams, as well. Those things can both exist and I would really love to have Raheem around still.”
What’s it like going up against a guy like Jalen Ramsey every day in practice?
Kupp: “We don’t get a ton of opportunities to go against each other. We have Mamba Periods every week where you get to compete against him. You obviously see him a little bit more during training camp. He’s special and he’s a special football player. When he is dialed in, he’s the best in this league. Hands down, he’s the best in this league. You saw it this year, there were obviously times – I know there are plays he wants back. It doesn’t matter. You don’t want to have to go play against Jalen Ramsey if you don’t have to. Being able to have the opportunity to play against him in practice to compete with him, pick his brain, see the things he’s seeing. His understanding of the game matched with his physical traits and abilities make him a very special player in this league. I’m very lucky to be able to go up against him and compete against him as much as I do.”
Have you talked to Mike LaFleur yet and if so, what excites you about his arrival?
Kupp: “I interviewed with Mike when I was coming out in the draft and he had just gotten to the Niners. I remember that interview and just being able to talk to each other and talk ball. I remember he was one of the few – the draft stuff is a complete blur – but he’s one of the interviews I remember just being like, ‘This is someone I really enjoy talking football with,’ being personable and being able to be someone that can connect with players, which I thought was a pretty special trait. And something where he’s conducting so many interviews but being able to be in that place and still be genuine and want to connect with you in that regard I thought was a pretty special thing. We’ve obviously kept up. We’ve obviously played the Niners multiple times over the last four years that he was there. Always pregame, being able to talk to each other, catching. Got a lot of respect for him and really glad he’s with the good guys now.”
What’s your favorite type of route to run?
Kupp: “Any route that gives me kind of a wide range of freedom, a little creativity. I like being able to do that. I like plays that give me some room to be creative, I guess. Sean through the years has expanded for me some of those routes where he’s giving me creativity, so really thankful for that because it’s made it a lot of fun for me to be able to find ways to win and get to spots. It’s probably a boring answer, but I could just say a choice route. A choice route is fun, give me a couple options and let me make a decision.”
What’s the origination of the “ocho” route you ran against the Bucs?
Kupp: “I think (McVay) might have ran that or had that in possibly with Washington, but he never taught it to us. Then during the COVID years where we had no OTAs, players got together, did some 7-on-7s and our defense knows all our plays, has seen all our stuff. This corner kept jumping those little China routes. So I was talking to Jared at the time and said ‘Let’s just hit ‘em. Let’s give ‘em that same look and after I come back in, I’ll pop back out and Sean ended up hearing about it and ends up getting it in. Really glad he ended up calling the play a few years ago against the Bucs. Really glad he called it. Then Renfrow got all the credit for the stuff that Greg Olson had him doing. You watch that stuff, the stuff that Renfrow was doing with the quadruple moves off the Chinas and the out-and-ups and all that stuff, it was pretty special. But kudos to Ollie for letting those guys do that because that’s some creative stuff they were doing over there.”
Who do you think wins the Super Bowl?
Kupp: “I think I was gonna give Kansas City the edge. I don’t know who’s gonna win it. I give Kansas City the edge a little bit. It’s one game, it’s who’s the best team on this day. I think Kansas City is probably the better team, but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be the ones to walk off the field as champions. Hoping for a good game and for it to end quickly so we can get to work quickly on this next season.”
Can you talk about your partnership with Sleep Number?
Kupp: “Really just trying to educate on sleep and the importance of not just the time that you sleep, but the quality of it, as well. I think we just get so intentional, and I know I’m so intentional with how I spend my day, the efficiency with how I want to work out and do things so that I can get back and be with (my sons) and all that kind of stuff. You’re so intentional with that side of things, you also want to be intentional with the recovery aspect. When you’re sleeping, it’s not just about the time you get, but how quality can I be? How efficient can I be in recovery so I can come back and be stronger than the day before? You break yourself down in the gym. I think everyone things you get stronger in the gym. You don’t get strong at the gym. You get strong recovering. For me, that’s the thing that’s missed a lot of times and that’s the thing Sleep Number has helped with.”
