Cooper Kupp won't let the Los Angeles Rams off the hook that easily.
L.A. cut its 2021 Super Bowl MVP for financial reasons after restructuring Matthew Stafford's contract. The Rams announced their intention to trade Kupp early in the offseason, but nothing materialized. After a short stint on the open market, he found a new (and familiar) home.
Kupp signed with the Seattle Seahawks on a three-year, $45 million contract.
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Kupp played high school football a couple hours from Seattle and attended Eastern Washington University. He's coming home, and getting a nice chunk of change to do so.
The Seahawks have completely revamped their offense this spring, swapping out Geno Smith for Sam Darnold, axing both Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, then signing Kupp. It's all in service of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who is well positioned to get the most out of his personnel.
It has been a chaotic offseason in the NFC West, one of football's most competitive divisions. The Seahawks and Rams both finished last season tied for first place at 10-7. The Hawks were a tiebreaker away from the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals (8-9) have made several upgrades in free agency and the San Francisco 49ers (6-11) can never be discounted at full strength.
Here's how the NFC West power rankings shape up following the Kupp news.
4. San Francisco 49ers
We need to see it, man.
Kyle Shanahan is one of our great coaches, but last season was a humbling experience for the Niners. We can chalk it up to injuries, but really, there's no way around the crippling cap sheet and the crumbling core. Deebo Samuel is gone. Brandon Aiyuk is back in trade rumors. Christian McCaffrey is still there, but he's health is never a guarantee over a 17-game season.
San Francisco will focus its offseason on extending Brock Purdy to a number that will make even the most optimistic fans queasy. This team still has the pedigree and talent to compete when healthy, but the "when healthy" qualifier has never felt more far-fetched in San Francisco. Factor in the inherent limitations of Purdy's looming contract — all the sacrifices the Niners have made and will make — and it's hard to feel great about San Francisco. Especially when the other teams in the division all feel rock solid.
Maybe this looks silly in hindsight. There's a nonzero chance San Francisco wins the division and is back in the contenders circle. This team was in the Super Bowl less than two years ago, lest we forget. For now, however, the Niners are in prove-it mode.
3. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are making moves. The Josh Sweat signing was such a "yeah duh" moment. Jonathan Gannon obviously has strong connections to the Eagles defense, which just obliterated the very best teams in the NFL en route to a Super Bowl title. Sweat addresses a prime position of need and then some. Arizona's defense was picking up steam last season. It might enter the stratosphere in 2025.
Meanwhile, Kyler Murray is quietly, like, the second-best quarterback in the division? Stafford feels like the de facto No. 1, but Murray's mobility is a valuable weapon. He's constantly extending plays outside the pocket and stressing defenses with his improv skills. Arizona has a sturdy offensive line, an ascendant WR1 in Marvin Harrison, and a dominant RB in Josh Connor. The deck is stacked awfully strong in their favor.
There's still a lot Gannon and company must prove, but Arizona was a feisty eight-win team in 2024 and the roster already looks much better in 2025. If Murray can stay healthy, and if the defense levels up, there's a real chance for the Cardinals to win this division.
2. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams won't die.
Sean McVay is just the best of the best. It is what it is. His reputation is wholly earned. The Rams aren't top-notch contenders anymore, but his ability to keep this team in the mix when Los Angeles has been navigating cap complications, injuries, and the creeping hand of Father Time for years is wildly impressive. We cannot, and shall not, count this team out.
That said, the Rams are another year older. You can look at the 2024 campaign from LA a couple different ways. On one hand, the Rams were the closest team to knocking out Philly in the playoffs. On the other hand, that was a fluky snow game, and LA only made the postseason on a tiebreaker. The Rams were the worst regular season division winner in the NFC. Now, Cooper Kupp is gone, the defense is bottom-10 in the league, and the trend lines feel negative.
Some will argue that newcomer Davante Adams is an upgrade over Cooper Kupp at this point, but it's hard to overstate the connection between Stafford and Kupp. That duo was linked telepathically. Kupp has been hurt on and off for a few years now, but when he was healthy, he produced prodigiously on a high volume of targets. There's no guarantee that Adams can capture the same magic.
LA feels like a safe bet to win the division (again), but safe bets aren't fun.
1. Seattle Seahawks
Are we overreacting to the addition of an injury-prone, 31-year-old wide receiver on the downswing of his career? Maybe, but the revamped Seahawks feel like a smart under-the-radar bet in 2025. Mike Macdonald is clearly a very good coach, and his commitment to building out this defense should start to pay dividends.
DeMarcus Lawrence is maybe a little too confident in Seattle's Super Bowl odds, but he's onto something. That's one of the offseason's most underrated value signings. As for the offense, well, Klint Kubiak is the real deal. He has a new depth chart built in his image. Time will tell if all the pieces gel together, but the right personnel is in place.
Sam Darnold probably isn't an upgrade over Geno Smith, who often made the most of very little for Seattle. That said, it's hard to argue with 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns. Minnesota was the perfect offensive ecosystem for Darnold, but he's always been a explosive talent. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp are two of the most versatile wideouts in the NFL. Both can line up in the slot or out wide, producing on a variety of routes and offering a multi-layered safety blanket for Seattle's upstart signal-caller.
The Seahawks are going to let Darnold stretch the defense and get his wideouts involved, early and often. The 27-year-old will need to prove his mettle without Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones in his orbit, but the Seahawks' ceiling stretches as high as any in the NFC West.