Cooper Kupp has played many roles for the Los Angeles Rams during his NFL career, providing whatever Sean McVay and the Rams coaching staff asked. When the 2024 NFL season kicks off on Sunday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, it appears Kupp will be playing a new role for his team.
On the Cooper Kupp YouTube channel , where he posts weekly podcasts with his wife Anna, Kupp previewed the upcoming NFL season. In talking about the upcoming Lons vs Rams game on NBC in Week 1, Kupp said that Sean McVay has an unusual trick up his sleeve to start the regular season.
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“We are six days away from kickoff and I will be doing the opening kickoff. Dropping that right here now. I’m literally out there kicking the ball to start things off. Pretty cool, pretty cool.”
Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp on his new role in Week 1
- Cooper Kupp stats ( ESPN ): 567 receptions, 7,066 receiving yards, 12.5 yards per reception, 51 touchdowns, 327 first downs in 92 career games
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Kupp has done a lot of things in his NFL career. Entering the 2024 season, the All-Pro wide receiver has attempted 4 career passes, all incomplete with a 39.6 QB rating. As a returner, he has 20 kickoff return yards on 2 career attempts and 62 punt return yards on 11 attempts. He’s been far more effective as a runner, recording 129 rushing yards with a 5.4 yards per carry average in his career.
Kicking off will be a new experience for the veteran wideout. He never did it in college in 52 career games played with Eastern Washington. You have to go all the way back to high school, where he starred at Davis High School in Yakima, Washington, to find Kupp’s last reps as a kicker.
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During his senior season at Davis High School, per MaxPreps, Kupp recorded 23 punts for 759 yards with a 33 yards per punt average. Across those 23 attempts in his final season, 21.7 percent landed inside the 20-yard line.
Assuming Kupp is revealing this Rams news, as opposed to messing with his audience, it makes the team’s decisions even more interesting. Los Angeles raised some eyebrows when it announced that starting running back Kyren Williams would serve as the team’s punt returner. While Kupp is much safer as a kickoff specialist, it’s a bit unusual to see an NFL contender use multiple starters on special teams.
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The new NFL kickoff rules, which you can learn all about right here , are going to lead to teams putting better athletes on the field with the league expecting a much higher return rate. Although, many around the NFL expect clubs to settle for touchbacks early in the season.
Sunday’s Rams vs Lions game was already going to be one of the best NFL matchups to watch in Week 1. If Kupp is the Rams’ kickoff specialist, fans might want to make sure they are in their seats early before Sunday Night Football kicks off, because who knows if we’ll get to see Kupp do it again.
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