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Cooper Kupp reveals that he accidentally 'ghosted' Peyton Manning for years
Jacob Camenker
03-02-2022•3 min read
Cooper Kupp had been receiving messages from a number he didn't recognize for the entirety of his NFL career. The Rams receiver never took time to respond to the texts, nor did he make an effort to discover who the mystery contact was.
However, in November of 2021, Kupp revealed that it had finally clicked for him. He realized that the messages were coming from Peyton Manning.
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How did Kupp find out it was Manning? It all began when Kupp received a text featuring a picture of him and Manning together, as he explained during a Twitter Spaces appearance in November.
"I got a message from a random number with a picture of him and I back at the Manning Passing Academy,” Kupp said, per
the NFL's Instagram. "And I was like, ‘That’s so weird. Who would have this picture?’"
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From there, Kupp was able to piece all of the context clues together and determine that the person he had ignored during his career was none other than Manning.
"I look back through the messages and they all line up with certain events where we’d seen each other," Kupp said. "So I think I’ve been ghosting Peyton Manning for my entire NFL career."
Kupp didn't clarify whether he finally texted Manning back upon making that realization. However, he did give a lighthearted apology on Twitter in wake of the NFL's report.
Manning has a good sense of humor, so he probably found this situation comical. And maybe now he and Kupp will be on better speaking — or at least texting — terms.
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Kupp put together one of the best seasons for a receiver in NFL history during the 2021 NFL campaign and 2022 playoffs. He totaled 2,425 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns during his 21 games played. He was a big part of the Rams' Super Bowl victory over the Bengals and won Super Bowl MVP for his efforts.