Former Rams WR Cooper Kupp draws warm welcome in return to SoFi Stadium

INGLEWOOD — Cooper Kupp stood on the SoFi Stadium field two hours before kickoff on Sunday, chatting with an old friend.

The new Seattle Seahawk and former Ram was deep in conversation with his former quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Perhaps for 10 minutes, the pair caught up on the field on which they won Super Bowl LVI. Rams staffers came by to say hello to Kupp, as did former teammates like receiver Puka Nacua. But all cleared away and allowed Kupp and Stafford to catch up.

When they finally hugged and headed to their respective locker rooms, Kupp ran past a group of Rams fans cheering for him. He waved before jogging up the tunnel and out of sight.

“Definitely different. Good seeing some guys,” Kupp said after the Rams’ 21-19 win, and after the Rams played a pregame tribute video that included clips from draft day to his game-winning catch in that aforementioned Super Bowl. “Once the game started, it was just about playing football.”

Kupp caught three passes for 23 yards on Sunday. All the catches came in the fourth quarter, but when he made his first, the SoFi Stadium crowd was ready with the old “Coop” cheer from his eight seasons with the Rams.

Injury report

Rams safety Quentin Lake left the game in the second half with an elbow injury. Head coach Sean McVay said he did not know the extent of the injury after the game.

Rams receiver Xavier Smith left the game with a concussion.

Briefly

The paid attendance of 75,323 set a regular-season record for SoFi Stadium.