Seattle Seahawk Veteran has a great chance to leave his mark in season finale

Fine.

When I think about 2025 for Cooper Kupp as a first-time Seattle Seahawk, that’s the word that comes to mind for me. He’s been fine. Definitely worth the $9.3 million cap hit he’s on in 2025, probably not worth the $17.5 million he’s on in 2026. Adding a healthy amount of value with off-field tutelage to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but definitely more limited on the field.

His health has held up better than most expected, missing just one out of seventeen games. 67.2% catch rate, in line with his more recent seasons in Los Angeles but a far cry from his best work. Three drops and a fumble, most of them in the last two games, manageable but frustrating given how rarely he gets targeted. Passable run blocking. Fine.

He’s had good plays (like a 67 yard catch and run against Arizona, or 29 yarder against Jacksonville), but if you’re looking for a game this year that echoed his high-volume receiver days as a Ram, there’s really only one strong example. Week Two against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks opened up the offense and Kupp posted seven catches for 90 yards.

He flirted with it briefly in a shootout against Tampa Bay, grabbing six balls for 59 yards, but it’s still a long way away from his days of winning the triple crown in 2021, or even those 100 target seasons that followed. Perfectly understandable in this low-volume passing attack, of course, but this isn’t your slightly-older-brother’s Cooper Kupp either.

He’s had two games this season with only a single catch, and six games with just two. Understand he’s working with a full slate of snaps as well, out there constantly for Seattle’s offense, about 75% of the snaps in games that he’s been healthy for. There’s only one ball, and JSN has been monopolizing it. And so, Kupp has been fine.

45 catches, 564 yards, 2 touchdowns. 68.9 PFF grade. Textbook definition of fine.

He's only got a couple of these this season. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) scores a touchdown during the second half against Jacksonville Jaguars. | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

But there’s one game left in the regular season, and this is the perfect chance for Kupp to elevate himself beyond that. It’s moments like this where an otherwise ordinary player, perhaps even a forgettable one, can become immortal by making the big plays in the big moments. Think Malcolm Smith, a backup linebacker on the LOB Seahawks who won Super Bowl MVP.

There’s no equivalency between Smith and Cooper Kupp, of course. Kupp has had an excellent career and actually won a Super Bowl MVP of his own just a few years ago. But the concept is the same. Circumstances are ripe for Kupp to have one of his best games in the most important game and be remembered with a fondness beyond his overall production by fans.

One last game to decide the NFC West and the #1 seed in the NFC. The difference between homefield advantage throughout and a trio of likely road games. And Seattle is very thin with pass catchers. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is there, and AJ Barner has become a wonderful complimentary piece to the passing attack, but what else is there to look at?

Not Rashid Shaheed, who has long odds to play after a concussion on Sunday. Not Tory Horton, who remains on injured reserve with no recent updates on his health from Coach Macdonald. Not Elijah Arroyo, who is not eligible to return until the postseason. Not even Cody White, who had his season end with a placement on injured reserve yesterday. Just Kupp.

The San Francisco 49ers, the opponent this weekend, have scored 127 points and allowed 89 in the last three games they’ve played. While I would hope that this elite Seattle defense can come up with something more fierce than what they’ve dealt with in these games, this game could easily end up being something of a shootout. And that means more passing.

More passing means more targets for Cooper Kupp, unless you believe Dareke Young or Jake Bobo are going to get featured. Making this the ideal time for Kupp to find a little bit of that fountain of youth and make some plays that remind you of his prime. One last game where he reminds you what he’s capable of, excels in a high-volume environment.

Does he have a hundred yard game left in him? Could he take advantage of the 49ers doubling Jaxon Smith-Njigba all game long and cheating up against the run? Will he be the guy that proves to be make-or-break in this very important game? It wouldn’t surprise me. And if he comes through, he’ll be remembered by Seahawks fans as a lot more than just fine.

Need more of this Kupp this weekend. — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) is tackled by Pittsburgh Steelers defenders Jalen Ramsey (5) and Patrick Queen (6). | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

More Seahawks on SI stories