Once the Arizona Cardinals released veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins the Tennessee Titans has been all in on bringing Hopkins to Nashville.
Hopkins, who is 31-years old going into his 11th season knows that he still has some good years left in the tank, and the Titans believe it as well. This past weekend, Hopkins spent time in Nashville–meeting with coaches and players. However, no contract has been made or signed at the moment. The Titans aren’t the only team that is trying to “woo Hopkins to join their squad.
The New England Patriots and several other teams are planning to meet with Hopkins as well. It looks like it could be a two man race between the Titans and Patriots. Go figure. Both teams have some familiarity with Hopkins– Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien both spent time in Houston where Hopkins career first started.
Hopkins’ Career
Hopkins has 853 catches for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns in his career. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro. The impact that he has had both in Houston and Arizona makes him one of the better wide receivers in his era at the position. Even in dealing with the QB carousel early in his Houston career Hopkins continued to thrive, and his first season in Arizona was the second best season he ever had in his career. However, the last two seasons Hopkins has dealt with suspensions and injuries.
Fourth Time the Charm?
The Titans have tried bringing in a big name wide receiver before. Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, and Julio Jones have all been down in Nashville. The names have sounded great, but the production hasn’t lived up to the hype. The previous names that were mentioned were past their primes and struggled to stay on the football field, so history shows that this may not go well for the Titans. For some reason this one has a different feel to it.
The first thing that is different about this situation for the Titans is that Hopkins does not have to come in and be a number one wide receiver. Treylon Burks is still going to be the Titans go-to guy for Ryan Tannehill. Secondly, there’s still Derrick Henry in the backfield and the Titans won’t stop being a physical football team. As long as you can get a healthy and available DeAndre Hopkins he will produce.
Even with an injury filled season, and a lackluster production from the wide receiver position the Titans had a chance at the end of the 2022 season to win the AFC South. Adding Hopkins could help there chances to fight for the division against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
How Much Will Hopkins Cost?
I believe that Hopkins won’t take anything less than $10 Million for a contract. Rightfully so, I can understand if that’s his market value for him. The Titans currently have around $8 Million in cap space going into Minicamp. General Manager Ran Carthon could work something out to flex more money in and set something up in a contract to where it may start at $8M and incentives to be met to reach $10-$12 Million. Hopkins seemed to have enjoyed his time in Nashville and the talks are heating up.
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance?
Absolutely there’s a chance. I believe that the Titans are the frontrunners to land Hopkins at the moment. He still is schedule to visit the Patriots this week and the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills afterwards. The Patriots needs a strong wide receiver presence in their position room, and would be the best weapon that quarterback Mac Jones would have ever had in his young career. However, the AFC East is loaded. The Bills aren’t going anywhere, the New York Jets have brought over Aaron Rodgers, and if the Miami Dolphins are healthy with Tua Tagovailoa they make the division even more tough.
The fit and situation looks a whole lot better for Hopkins to be in the two-tone blue this season. Also, who wouldn’t want to see Hopkins score a couple of touchdowns on his former team in the Houston Texans? Most Titan fans are hoping that a deal can get done, and can bring some excitement to the team since they didn’t really look to improve the wide receiver position to its full potential in the initial free agency window or in the NFL Draft. Titans’ Watch is on, DeAndre.
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