Cooper Kupp (back) upgrades to full on Thursday

Kupp popped up on the injury report with a back issue, though he was listed as a limited participant. The veteran 33-year-old may just be having his practice reps managed as he deals with a back ailment. Barring a change, Kupp is still trending to play Week 2 against the Cardinals.

Kupp had one of the highlights of the night with a leaping, one-handed snag late in the third quarter. The 24-yard catch eventually resulted in a field goal and Seattle’s first points of the night. Kupp can still come up with the occasional clutch play, but his ability to earn targets is all but gone. With Drew Lock likely filling in for an injured Sam Darnold next week, Kupp is not on the fantasy radar ahead of Week 2.

Kupp operated as the Seahawks’ WR2 last season, though The Athletic’s Mike Dugar reported in March that WR Rashid Shaheed’s new deal “suggests a demotion” could be on the way for Kupp. Regardless, Kupp loves “playing this game too much” to slow down now. If Kupp can retain his WR2 role on the Seahawks, he will likely only be a matchup-based FLEX option.

Kupp’s 2026 cap hit is $17.4 million, fourth-highest on the team behind Sam Darnold, Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu. The Seahawks can’t clear much of it via a release, but they could trade him and save roughly $9.4 million if they found a taker. That sounds like a lot to ask. With a full season to implement Shaheed into the offense, we may just see Kupp become WR5 background noise for fantasy purposes.

WIth Jaxon Smith-Njigba gutting through injury and tough coverage, Kupp was actually the Seahawks’ leading wideout as he hoisted the second Lombardi Trophy of his sterling career. Outside the Sean McVay cocoon for the first time during his nine-year career — and not by choice — Kupp chose the ascending Seahawks in free agency even though he would clearly be the No. 2 wideout. “Clearly” became a chasm, with Smith-Njigba out-gaining his veteran teammate 1,793-593. Kupp did manage to stay largely healthy for the first time in four years, and saw a modest usage spike during the postseason. Four months shy of his 33th birthday, Kupp has no guaranteed salary for 2026, but cutting him would create as much dead money as cap savings. He could be in for a restructure, but Kupp will likely be back with the Seahawks. Where he is unlikely to be is in the top 40 in fantasy after this season’s WR52 finish by total PPR points.

Kupp had 3/39 and 3/23 against the Rams in his two regular season games against them, but saved his lone touchdown for the NFC title game, taking a quick curl through a few zone defenders for a score. He added a first-down catch on Seattle’s final drive that he just narrowly appeared to cross the first-down marker for after beating his man handily on a crossing route. Kupp’s probably Seattle’s true “No. 2" target, but hasn’t separated himself enough from the pack to pay a premium for in Super Bowl LX DFS contests.

Kupp was able to take advantage of the extra attention Jaxon Smith-Njigba drew today to lead the team in receiving yards. It was the first time he’d cleared 50 yards since Week 10. Kupp will likely remain a touchdown-or-bust bet in DFS in the NFC Championship game.

Kupp was the target on a fourth-and-goal end zone chuck from Sam Darnold, but the ball wasn’t even close enough for him to make a play on it. The veteran did manage to convert two first downs on his only two catches, including a 24-yarder in the fourth quarter where Darnold was drifting towards the line on the move. Kupp didn’t crack 600 yards and managed just two touchdowns in his first year in Seattle. They can probably do better going forward if they want to move on.

One of Kupp’s missed connections was a ball he coughed up for a near-interception following a mammoth hit. Held under 50 yards in seven straight appearances, Kupp is not percolating ahead of Week 18 against the 49ers.

The Seahawks tried to get Kupp a touchdown early against his former team on a gadget pass that had no shot of working. Late in the second quarter, Sam Darnold found him for what should have been a play to set up a score, but he fumbled the football for what ended up being a touchback for the Rams. He did catch a low throw from Darnold for a two-point conversion, and the 32-year-old showed he’s still capable of getting it done on a beautiful sideline catch for 21 yards in overtime to help set up the winning score. Kupp remains a desperation FLEX going forward, with his next chance to contribute coming against the Panthers in Week 17.