Seahawks have a tough decision to make on star player after Super Bowl win

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Seahawks have a tough decision to make on star player after Super Bowl win

February 12, 2026

The ink isn’t even dry, and the hangovers are barely over for the Seattle Seahawks. They won the Super Bowl. They should be able to enjoy it, right? We know how the NFL works, though. This is and 365 day a 365-day-a-year enterprise, and the grind never stops.

As the Seahawks look towards the 2026 season, and let’s be honest, that’s already happening, one of the biggest questions is the future of Cooper Kupp.

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Reasons to keep him:

Feb 5, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) talks to media members at the San Jose Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

From a regular-season perspective, Kupp’s first season in Seattle wasn’t great. He finished with just 47 catches for 593 yards and two touchdowns. Kupp wasn’t close to being the same dominating player that he was in his prime with the Los Angeles Rams. While part of that was due to the sheer dominance and overwhelming success of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Seattle running game, it was hard not to take note of that.

With Smith-Njigba dealing with a concussion in the Super Bowl, Kupp stepped up and caught six of 12 targets for 61 yards. It closed out a strong postseason in which he caught 15 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown in three games.

But with the veteran entering his age-33 season, Seattle has a tough decision to make on Kupp.

Reasons to release him:

Cooper Kupp — +10000 — Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) leaves the field after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

He has a $17.47 million cap hit next season and that comes with $8 million of dead money. While the Seahawks are currently fifth in available cap space at $73 million, releasing Kupp would create a substantial windfall. Seattle is fortunate that Sam Darnold is on an affordable contract for a quarterback, but Kenneth Walker is a free agent, and they can’t ignore the status of their defense.

Rashid Shaheed is also a free agent, which means that the Seahawks are thin at the receiver position. But is Kupp the best use of their capital and roster space? He showed this season that he’s not capable of being a true number two receiver, and he’s overpaid to be a third or fourth option. If Kupp is still in Seattle in 2026, it will likely be because his contract was re-done.