Four years ago with the Rams, receiver Cooper Kupp had a season for the ages, culminating in the Super Bowl MVP award. Now with the Seahawks, Kupp is facing his former team with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
He was asked on Thursday whether he envisioned this possibility.
“No,” Kupp told reporters, “you take things one day at a time. I’ve touched on this a little bit, we all have a story. All these guys here that step on this field, they’ve all had a story to get them to this point. They’ve all had a journey of what this year has been, what the last few years have been to come to this point. Mine is just one of 53 that are going to be on that field. And my story, this is an unbelievable storyline, the chances of this ends up being what it is. And I’m really excited about that. But this is the Seahawks going into an NFC Championship game and trying to get the job done.
“So that’s the great thing about football. It’s all these guys. All these guys have different stories, and we all get to play for one another. I mean, it’s a powerful thing when all 50 guys are playing for their purpose. But it’s even more powerful when you’re playing for the guys next to you and the people lining up alongside you. And that’s what I’m excited about, is the guys that are in this room that you want to go out there and win for, the coaches that put so much time into this that you want to go and execute your job for. And we’ve got a lot of guys that live that, that are about it. And that’s what makes this a really exciting thing for me.”
Kupp has a far different role with the Seahawks than he did with the Rams. In the regular season, he caught 47 passes for 593 yards in 16 games, his lowest output since 2018, when he caught 40 passes for 566 yards in only eight games.
And while the bigger picture for the Seahawks is getting back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years, Kupp has a chance to keep his former team from getting there, in the first year of his career elsewhere. It’ll be impossible for him to not think about that, even if he’s more focused on the goal of parlaying the No. 1 seed into a spot in the next game.
The Chargers have requested Aubrey Pleasant to interview for their vacant defensive coordinator job, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
Pleasant is the assistant head coach/defensive passing game coordinator for the Rams. The Rams defense ranked 10th in points allowed and fifth in takeaways in 2025.
He has coached in the NFL for the past 13 seasons.
Pleasant has spent time with Washington, the Browns, Lions and Packers.
The Chargers are seeking to replace Jesse Minter, whom the Ravens hired as their head coach on Thursday.
A major winter storm is coming this weekend, and that could be good news for the NFL.
As noted by Eric Fisher of FrontOfficeSports.com, inclement weather could keep more people in their homes on Sunday, with nothing to do but hunker down for seven hours of high-stakes football.
The AFC Championship starts at 3:00 p.m. ET, with the NFC Championship kicking off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Whatever the weather, the ratings will be significant. Many millions will be watching both games. But it can’t hurt if people who otherwise wouldn’t be home on Sunday, for whatever reason, are snowed and/or iced in.
There’s one caveat. Ice accumulations could lead to power outages. Which will make it a little harder to turn the TV on.
Last year, Commanders-Eagles generated a relatively disappointing 44.2 million viewers. Bills-Chiefs attracted 57.4 million.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold remained a limited participant in Thursday’s practice as he continues to nurse an oblique injury.
Darnold popped up on last Thursday’s injury report after tweaking his left oblique early in practice while warming up. He was questionable, but started and played 47 snaps before turning it over to Drew Lock to finish in mop-up duty.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said earlier Thursday that he is optimistic that starting left tackle Charles Cross will play against the Rams. Cross, though, remained out of practice with his foot injury.
Cross missed the final three games of the regular season with a hamstring injury and injured a knee last week in practice before leaving with a foot injury in Saturday’s playoff win over the 49ers.
The second- and third-string offensive tackles — Josh Jones (knee, ankle) and Amari Kight (knee) — also again didn’t practice.
Guard Bryce Cabeldue (knee) and fullback Robbie Ouzts (neck) remained limited for a second consecutive day.
Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (rest), linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (hamstring), wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (rest) and defensive lineman Leonard Williams (rest) returned to full participation after limited work on Wednesday.
Tight end Elijah Arroyo (knee), running back George Holani (hamstring), linebacker Tyrice Knight (shoulder) and linebacker Chazz Surratt (ankle) again were full participants.
The Rams had only one change to their practice report on Thursday.
Safety Quentin Lake, who missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness, returned to full participation.
Outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) remained out of practice.
Coach Sean McVay said earlier this week that he expects Young to play. Young’s knee soreness limited him to only 35 of 81 snaps against the Bears in the divisional round, and he likely will be on a snap count if he plays Sunday.
Josiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson saw more playing time in the divisional round.
Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (shoulder) again was limited. He played only four snaps in last week’s game.
Outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart (knee) remained a full participant.
Offensive lineman Rob Havenstein (ankle) returned to practice on Thursday, with a limited session. The Rams opened Havenstein’s 21-day practice window.
