JUNE 13: Adding further to Howe’s Monday report of Hopkins’ Patriots visit, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that it will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. That two-day window will provide New England with an opportunity to outbid the Titans, and potentially convince the three-time All-Pro to avoid taking any further visits with interested teams. Plenty of attention will no doubt be paid to the Patriots’ actions in the coming days and their willingness to use their financial advantage relative to other Hopkins suitors.
JUNE 12: DeAndre Hopkins left his Titans visit without a deal. According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter), “no deal was struck” between the free agent wideout and the Titans.
[RELATED: DeAndre Hopkins To Visit Patriots]
After “spending hours with the players and staff,” Hopkins left the Titans facility this evening. Thanks to Hopkins’ Instagram, we learned that the wideout apparently attended a concert at Nissan Stadium during his visit in Tennessee. His meeting “apparently went well,” per Russini, but the receiver intends to take more visits with teams before making a final decision.
Considering Tennessee was first on Hopkins’ free agency tour, it’s not shocking that he left Tennessee without a deal. It doesn’t sound like Hopkins has enough suitors to spark a true bidding war, at least one that could approach the $15MM salary that he’s seeking. The Titans were probably responsible with their financial offer to the receiver, and it would have required a significant pay day to get Hopkins’ signature this afternoon.
We learned last week that the Patriots were next on the list of Hopkins’ visits. Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets that the wideout is still planning to visit New England but the exact “logistics on the timing” are still being worked out. New England is currently sitting with almost twice as much effective cap space as Tennessee (per OverTheCap.com), and their financial advantage could come in handy if they’re only competing with the Titans for the free agent’s services.
If Hopkins does end up in New England, many assumed he’d take the roster spot from one of the team’s current receivers. ESPN’s Mike Reiss isn’t so sure. He notes that the organization has been bringing offseason signing JuJu Smith-Schuster along slowly, and sources tell the reporter that 2022 second-round receiver Tyquan Thornton is “managing a soft-tissue-related injury.” While a hypothetical Hopkins signing may still lead to one of the team’s notable WRs earning their walking papers during the preseason, it could at least buy someone like Kendrick Bourne or DeVante Parker some extra time to carve out a role.
Elsewhere, Hopkins’ former team may have a bit more financial wiggle room than we anticipated. Per veteran reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter), the Cardinals’ were left with $21.078MM in dead cap following Hopkins’ release. It was originally reported that the dead cap money was around $22.6MM.
It’ll be kind of funny if he ends up signing with the Titans or Patriots after his talk of what he wanted in a team, essentially describing a good contender, and saying that he’d like to team up with QB’s like Mahomes, Allen, and Hurts.
Starting to think Hopkins actually just wants more money.
Visiting teams with lots of cap space speaks volumes, doesn’t it? I was thinking TENN would overpay simply because of the AJ Brown fiasco last year. NE certainly won’t overpay.
I’m surprised they’re looking at this guy after the Julio Jones disaster. Very similar.
I don’t see the similarities. Hopkins still looks productive. Jones looks 95
Same age. Wanting too much money. Coming off injuries. Who are you- Hellen Keller?
OBJ would be a better example.
They’re probably leverage visits. You get the highest offer you can from teams with the most cap, then if a contender comes calling you see if you can squeeze some extra cash out of them.
My guess is this was a visit mostly to get an offer so he can use it as leverage with another team
Agreed. I’m a bit surprised the Jets haven’t reached out for a conversation. Can waive Davis and gain room. Guess they won’t move on anything until they figure out the Rodgers contract.
The Jets have no need for a diva veteran when they have Garrett Wilson and all their other young talent.
He would go good with their diva quarterback though
The Patriots got 4 receptions and 56 yards of production from Antonio Brown so I imagine BB is very excited about the prospect of signing Hopkins.
Buffalo swoops in after Patriots visit and gets him (halfway joking). Although as a Titans fan I desperately want another WR. We love us some injuries, and we have ZERO depth at WR.