Since the Rams released Kupp in March, he has found a new home in the Pacific Northwest. Kupp’s production is slightly below the pace he reached during his last injury-plagued seasons with the Rams, but he’s happy to play a supporting role alongside current NFL leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Things are going just fine for the Seahawks, who at 7-2 are one of the NFL’s leading Super Bowl contenders. They face fellow Rams (7-2) in a highly anticipated title-chasing clash.
For Kupp, that is what matters most. While the pain of his injury may still linger, he prefers that 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 everything and executing at a high level and coming back and doing it over and over again.
“It would just be a shame to say that I want this game more than any other game. It’s doing the guys in this room with me a disservice, that I would hold everything back from them. [for] my own ambitions or desires.”
Both Kupp and his former coach, Sean McVay, hit all the notes typical of a reunion game, expressing gratitude for the player, coach, team and city. Kupp added that he finally got the clarity he sought from the Rams when they initially informed him of their desire to move on, giving him some much-needed closure.
“I was able to have some private conversations 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 it. I’m happy to be in this place. I’m looking forward to being able to see some people in preliminaries, hug them and then when it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”