SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Receiver Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones IV have been on this stage.
So has running back Cam Akers.
All three started for the Rams four years ago in a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
All eventually were released or traded by the Rams and wound up with the Seattle Seahawks, who play the New England Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium.
Kupp and Jones have been stars and team leaders for a Seahawks team that finished 14-3, earned the top seed in the NFC and then defeated the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015.
“The Cooper Kupps and the Ernest Jones of the world have been here,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. “They’ve given their perspective on how we want to approach the week. They’ve been great.”
On the field, and in the team meeting and locker rooms.
Jake Peetz, the Seahawks’ pass game coordinator, was on coach Sean McVay’s Rams staff in 2022 and 2023. Kupp and Jones are “great culture-builders,” Peetz said.
“No different than when we were all with the Rams,” Peetz said. “They were part of a great culture, and they saw what it was like, they helped build it, and they had great leadership with Sean. And now they bring those lessons here and they have great leadership from Mike.”
Kupp, 32, starred for the Rams for eight seasons. In 2021, he was the NFL offensive player of the year and was voted Super Bowl most valuable player. But injuries slowed Kupp for much of the next three seasons and the Rams began running the offense through emerging star receiver Puka Nacua.
Last March, the Rams signed star free agent Davante Adams and released Kupp. Two days later, the Seahawks signed Kupp to a three-year contract that includes more than $26 million in guarantees.
“We made it a point, whenever the first time we were actually allowed to reach out to Coop, I had him on the line,” Macdonald said. “I just said, like, ‘Look we don’t get a lot of opportunities to acquire a player like you, especially early in our program,’ and what better player to bring in early than Cooper Kupp.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the Seahawks’ star receiver. He caught 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns and won NFL offensive player of the year. Kupp caught 47 passes for 593 yards and two touchdowns.
In the NFC championship game against the Rams, Kupp caught a touchdown pass and also had a key third-down catch late in the Seahawks’ 31-27 victory.
“In my own journey of this last year, to be back here right now is really special,” Kupp said, adding, “Having going through some difficult times early just does make it feel like, man, there’s like a payoff at the end, but at the same time I know it’s just a product of all the people I’ve been around.
“What’s really been special about this, has been going from walking in that [Seahawks headquarters] building Day 1 and not knowing anybody, to now the relationships I have, and the journey, the highs, lows and the adversity we’ve gone through and to be in that place now where I’m surrounded by a bunch of really great people and have the opportunity to play for a world title. That’s not something I don’t take lightly.”
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold meets with Kupp early each morning to study film and connect about football and life. Kupp’s influence permeates the entire team, and goes beyond leading by example, Darnold said.
“If he does say things, he’s one of those guys where the entire room is dead silent and then they’re super focused on what he’s saying because we know that he doesn’t waste his breath,” Darnold said. “He’s always going to be able to say something very mindful.”
Smith-Njigba said Kupp’s greatest influence was the “process over results” Kupp preaches.
“That’s something he came into the building with,” Smith-Njigba said. “And once he said it, it just struck a light bulb into my brain like, ‘It’s about the process. It’s about what we do.’”
Jones, a third-round draft pick by the Rams in 2021, became a starter midway through his rookie season and eventually was voted a team captain. But going into the final year of his rookie contract, the Rams informed him they would not offer him an extension before the season.
Jones nursed a knee injury during training camp and was traded to the Tennessee Titans. He played in six games before the Titans traded him to the Seahawks, where he has found a home.
In March, the Seahawks signed Jones to a three-year contract that includes $15 million in guarantees.
Jones, 26, said he was “in a dark spot” when his time with the Rams ended.
“To get traded from a team, go through what I went through and then to be back in the Super Bowl with my new team now — going against my former team [in the NFC championship game], no author could write that book,” Jones said. “That’s Jesus Christ, man. So it was perfect.”
The Seahawks’ defense was “transformed” the moment Jones walked into team headquarters, safety Julian Love said.
“He’s somebody who is young but carries himself so mature,” Love said. “He’s the catalyst for everything we do on defense.”
Akers, a second-round pick by the Rams in 2020, played well as a rookie and then made a near miraculous recovery from an Achilles injury to play in the Super Bowl. But his relationship with McVay soured and the Rams traded him to the Minnesota Vikings in 2023.
The Seahawks signed Akers, 26, in late November, and he played as a backup in six games. He has been on the practice squad and has not been elevated to the roster as a third running back in recent games.
But Kupp and Jones are expected to play prominent roles Sunday in pursuit of their second Super Bowl titles.
“I love Coop, and I’m happy we’re a part of this journey together,” Jones said. “And here we go again.”
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