INGLEWOOD — Rams receiver Cooper Kupp was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year at the 2022 NFL Honors Award Show on Thursday night at the YouTube Theater.
Kupp won the receiving triple crown this season, leading the league with 145 receptions, 1,947 yards receiving and 16 touchdown catches while helping the Rams to the NFC West title.
A unanimous All-Pro, he received 35 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. Kupp finished far in front of Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (10), Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (three) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (2).
Working with a new quarterback, Matthew Stafford, Kupp had 14 games with at least 10 catches and no games with fewer than seven. He had 100 yards receiving in 11 of 17 regular-season games.
He’ll have the opportunity to add to his memorable season on Sunday when the Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
“We obviously have a big task ahead of us,” Kupp said. “That’s where my mind is at … I’ve had so much fun preparing with the guys on (the Rams).”
Kupp was a finalist for the AP Most Valuable Player Award but that honor was given to Rodgers, the fourth time he has won it and the second year in a row. Rodgers received 39 of 50 MVP votes ahead of Brady (10 votes) and Kupp (one).
The receiver was quick to give credit to his teammates and family for the success he’s been able to have this season.
“This sport demands a lot of you and you have to sacrifice a lot to play the right way with the respect my team deserves,” Kupp said. “Nobody understands that sacrifice more than my family because of the time I have spent away from them.
“It’s one of those things where the family doesn’t get the credit they deserve but I truly don’t think any of this would be possible without them.”
Kupp became the fourth Ram to win the award. He follows running backs Eric Dickerson (1986), Marshall Faulk (1999, 2000, 2001) and Todd Gurley (2017). He also became just the third receiver to win the award, joining Jerry Rice (1987, 1993) and Michael Thomas (2019).
Kupp shared a fun moment with teammate Andrew Whitworth, who received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, after the award show while the receiver was speaking to the media.
The Rams’ veteran offensive lineman, who was scheduled to speak after his teammate, walked into the room interrupting Kupp.
“Yeah. Yeah. People get to hear from skilled players all the time,” Whitworth said jokingly. “I want a chance to talk.”
Kupp answered with a quick rebuttal that Whitworth spent “30 minutes on stage,” referring to the show’s final segment that featured a video package and a six-minute speech from Whitworth.
A special thank you from the Whitworths. 💙
🗣 WHOSE HOUSE?! pic.twitter.com/yWQfEUNjl6
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 11, 2022
Both Super Bowl coaches Sean McVay of the Rams and Zac Taylor of the Bengals were finalists for the Coach of the Year Award but the honor went to Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
The Bengals had two award winners as receiver Ja’Marr Chase was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and quarterback Joe Burrow won AP Comeback Player of the Year.
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, a unanimous All-Pro like Kupp, led the NFL in sacks with a record-tying 22½ and was named Defensive Player of the Year, an award his brother, Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman J.J. Watt, won three times when he was with the Houston Texans.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, who came in second to Watt for top defensive player – but 37 votes behind – was a unanimous choice for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
RARE REPEAT
Rodgers became the fifth player to repeat as MVP.
“It is kind of surreal sitting here,” Rodgers said. “Being a four-time MVP is crazy.
“They’re all different. They’ve all been unique in their own ways and this one feels the sweetest.”
Despite the turmoil of training camp and the headlines created by Rodgers when he misled the public on his COVID-19 vaccination, his play on the field was superb. Not even one of Brady’s best performances – in his final season – came close in the MVP race.
Only Peyton Manning with five MVP awards is ahead of Rodgers, who said no announcement on his future in the NFL is imminent.
“There was something to how I felt walking off the field,” he said. “I had great conversations with the Packers before I left town. There have been changes to the staff. Just comes down to weighing where I am at mentally and what the commitment is.
“I don’t fear retirement and moving on. I’m very proud of what I have accomplished over being in Green Bay for 17 years. Also still highly competitive and bitter taste from the NFC game. I was frustrated about things during the offseason and I feel like there’s so much growth. There were some things voiced privately, and I am thankful for the response. There were things done to make me feel special and important.”
HALL OF FAME
The long wait to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is finally over for several deserving candidates, two of whom have L.A. area ties: former Rams and UCLA coach Dick Vermeil and former USC offensive lineman Tony Boselli.
In a year with no sure-fire first-ballot candidates, the panel of voters opted to choose five players who have waited years – or even decades – for the honor with Boselli, linebacker Sam Mills, defensive back LeRoy Butler, and defensive linemen Bryant Young and Richard Seymour all getting the nod in results announced Thursday night.
The five had all come up short as finalists in previous years and been out of the game for between the last nine and 24 seasons but that didn’t diminish their remarkable accomplishments that will send them to Canton for induction on Aug. 6.
Three others who also have endured long waits were voted in by the panel with former Raiders speedster Cliff Branch getting in as the senior candidate, Vermeil in the coach category and longtime head of officiating Art McNally as a contributor.
It took Boselli until his 16th year of eligibility and sixth time as a finalist to get in as voters rewarded him for his dominance over seven seasons and sent him to Canton despite playing only 91 games.
He was the first pick ever by the expansion Jaguars in 1995 and was the face of the franchise in the early days. He was a three-time All-Pro and helped the Jaguars make four straight playoff berths starting in their second season, including a trip to the 1996 AFC title game.
“If I have any regret, it’s because I probably took it for granted,” Boselli said. “I’ll play 15 years, I’ll retire when I’m done. And this game’s unforgiving in that matter because you never know when it might be the last time.”
Branch’s then-Oakland Raiders denied Vermeil a title in Philadelphia in the 1980 season. Vermeil burned out a couple of years later and took a 14-year hiatus, mostly as a broadcaster, before returning as coach of the then-St. Louis Rams in 1997 and leading the “Greatest Show on Turf” team that delivered the franchise’s only Super Bowl title in the 1999 season.
“My job was not so much to win football games but to make each player the best player he can be,” Vermeil said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
