Rams’ Cooper Kupp Looks to Reestablish Himself as Dominant NFL Receiver

Cooper Kupp is back and ready to dominate the NFL

After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, Cooper Kupp is finally feeling like himself again, and that’s bad news for the rest of the NFL. In 2021, Kupp led the league in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, earning him NFL Offensive Player of the Year and MVP of the Super Bowl.

However, since then, it’s been a struggle for the Rams star. In 2022, he missed the final eight games with a nasty high-ankle sprain that required surgery. Last year, Kupp was slowed during training camp with a hamstring injury and missed the first four games of the regular season.

“I don’t know what I could have done differently, aside from sitting out,” Kupp said. “If I didn’t feel like I was an asset out there, then I wouldn’t be out there.”

Now fully healthy, Kupp is looking forward to reestablishing himself as a dominant receiver in the NFL. He looked like his old self during OTAs, having the ability to do a normal offseason buildup to training camp.

Kupp is back to his old self during OTAs

“Getting healthy during the offseason was a big deal, being able to do all the things I want to do,” Kupp told FOX Sports. “Last season was rehab [from the ankle injury] for all of it until training camp. And so I’ve been able to go back and train with the same people I’ve trained with for the last four years, when I was actually dialed in, and have the same consistency that I’ve been able to do every day.”

Coach Sean McVay said there has been a noticeable difference in Kupp on the field.

“He’s been great,” McVay said. “He’s been able to establish a foundation. He knows his body really well. [He’s] just so conscientious, such a great leader.”

Before OTAs, workouts this offseason at Kupp’s home included second-year receiver Puka Nacua, who said he was puking early on because of the intensity.

Kupp and Nacua working out together

Kupp said he expects Nacua to continue to perform at an elite level after setting the NFL rookie records for receptions and receiving yards last year.

“That’s one of the hardest things, when success finds you suddenly,” Kupp said. “It’s hard to go back and say, ‘I’m going to go earn it again.’ He could have easily made the justification of, ‘That came quickly; it came easily. What’s there to work for?’”

But his willingness to jump back in and go to work, that’s the first step to continue to grow and become a better football player. I thought he came out here in OTAs and was moving really well. He looks like a very strong, athletic football player. And I’m excited to see what he can do in Year 2 having done all that work.

After minicamp, Kupp won’t go back to Oregon to train as he’s done in years past, choosing instead to train in Southern California with Nacua.

“The goal is to win games, win Super Bowls,” said Kupp, who turns 31 on June 15. “That’s always what it is. I don’t have personal goals that I have set for myself, other than I want to be out there. When training camp starts and Week 1 starts up, I want to be a better football player than I was before, improving and growing from one year to the next.”

If I can be an asset and positive piece to this team, then that’s the goal at the end of the day.

Kupp is ready to dominate the NFL again