Receiver Cooper Kupp grew up watching the Seattle Seahawks. Now he's playing for them.
Kupp, who is from Yakima, Washington, and played at Eastern Washington, was introduced as the newest Seahawk on Tuesday after signing a three-year deal worth $45 million.
Kupp's memories were jogged as he walked through the Seahawks' practice facility, recalling some of the team's greatest moments depicted in photographs on the walls.
“Growing up watching Seattle, watching football being a huge part of my life and then playing at Eastern Washington, full circle moment coming back and being able to throw on a Seattle Seahawks uniform, it’s a really cool thing," he said.
Kupp, the Super Bowl 56 MVP, comes to Seattle after eight years with the Los Angeles Rams, who released him last week. He and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will help replace DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, who left Seattle in free agency.
The Seahawks have also brought in quarterback Sam Darnold after trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Kupp said getting released by the Rams was hard.
“I’m sure they have their reasons for why they want to do things, whatever it is. Not a ton of clarity in that regard," he said. "But at the end of the day, I’m thankful to be able to walk away from that organization and be able to look back on all those memories, all those experiences, all those things that we were able to go through together and the relationships that we had with so many people there, and look at it in a positive light and be very thankful for my time in Los Angeles.”
Kupp was the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 when he won the receiving triple crown by catching 145 passes for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns. He added 33 catches for 478 yards and six TDs in the postseason, including the winning touchdown in a Super Bowl win over Cincinnati on the Rams’ home field.
But he's been plagued by injuries for the past three seasons and hasn't had 900 yards receiving during that span.
Last season he missed four early games with an ankle injury. Kupp had just 12 catches for 162 yards in the final five games of the regular season during the least productive stretch of his career.
His role was also diminished with the Rams as Puka Nacua emerged as an elite NFL receiver the past two seasons.
Kupp said he has tried not to listen to the naysayers.
“I know how to navigate these waters. I’ve been here before, and it’s not about the negative energy. It’s not about proving anyone else wrong, trying to make anyone else feel bad about anything,” he said. “It’s just about being myself and being who I believe I can be and going out there and playing the game I love.”
Kupp was drafted in the third round in 2017 out of Eastern Washington in coach Sean McVay’s first draft class. He had been a centerpiece of the offense throughout his career, catching 634 passes for 7,776 yards and 57 touchdowns.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp speaks during an introductory press conference, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the team headquarters in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp holds a jersey with his name and number 10 during an introductory press conference, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the team headquarters in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp speaks during an introductory press conference, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at the team headquarters in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An international United Nations staffer was killed and five others were wounded in a strike Wednesday on a U.N. guesthouse in the Gaza Strip, as Israel pressed on with a new offensive in the territory that shattered a fragile ceasefire with Hamas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened to step up the assault, warning Palestinians in Gaza that Israel would again order evacuations from combat zones soon. He said that if hostages held in the territory weren't freed, “Israel will act with an intensity that you have not seen.”
Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the U.N. Office for Project Services, declined to say who carried out the strike in the central city of Deir al-Balah but said the explosive ordnance was “dropped or fired” and the blast was not accidental or related to demining activity.
He did not provide the nationalities of those killed and wounded. The U.N. body, known as UNOPS, carries out infrastructure and development projects around the world.
The Israeli military, which has carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes throughout Gaza since early Tuesday, denied earlier reports that it had targeted the U.N. compound.
But Moreira da Silva said strikes had hit near the compound on Monday and struck it directly on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, when the staffer was killed. He said the agency had contacted the Israeli military after the first strike and confirmed that it was aware of the facility's location.
“Israel knew this was a U.N. premise, that people were living, staying and working there," he said.
After the strike Wednesday, the wounded were rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital in central city of Deir al-Balah. One man was carried inside on a blanket held up by medical workers. Another lay on a hospital bed, his knee bandaged. A blue protective vest emblazoned with “UN” rested on a nearby bed.
There have been no reports of rocket fire or other Palestinian militant attacks since Israel unleashed the airstrikes overnight and into Tuesday, ending a ceasefire with Hamas that took hold in January. The Israeli bombardment continued into Wednesday, though at a lower intensity.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 436 people, including 183 children and 94 women, have been killed since Israel launched the strikes early Tuesday. It said another 678 people have been wounded.
The military says it only strikes militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas. Gaza's Health Ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The military said in a statement that as part of the new offensive, it struck dozens of militants and militant sites on Wednesday, including the command center of a Hamas battalion.
The war in Gaza, which was paused in January by an internationally-mediated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, has been among the deadliest conflicts ever for humanitarian workers, according to the U.N.
The resumption of fighting launched by Israel early Tuesday risks plunging the region back into all-out war. It came weeks after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages for prisoners and were set to negotiate an extension to the truce that was meant to bring about an eventual end to the war.
But those negotiations never got off the ground. Hamas has demanded that Israel stick to the terms of the initial ceasefire deal, including a full withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war. Israel, which has vowed to defeat Hamas, has put forward a new proposal that would extend the truce and free more hostages held by Hamas, without a commitment to end the war.
Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Palestinians evacuate an injured man after his house was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is brought into al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital following what the U.N. described as a strike in which an explosive ordnance was "dropped or fired" in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT.-Palestinians evacuate an injured man after his house was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians evacuate an injured man after his house was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians evacuate an injured man after his house was hit by an Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israelis march on a highway toward Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The body of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The body of United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is treated at the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
