In case you missed it, the Titans won the sweepstakes for three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Tennessee signed him to a two-year, $26MM contract that can be boosted up to $32MM with a few incentives. It seemed coming into the weekend that it was a two-team race between the Titans and Patriots, but New England ended up just falling short, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. 
For weeks, Tennessee and New England were the only visits Hopkins had taken, but a deal didn’t seem imminent with either organization, despite an unofficial soft deadline of training camp to get a deal done. Many seemed to think that Hopkins was waiting for more teams to jump into the mix. Perhaps Kansas City would find a way to clear some cap space by extending defensive tackle Chris Jones, effectively allowing them into the race. Or, maybe, another team with cap space might suffer an injury that leaves them in need of a No. 1 receiver.
Even if new suitors emerged, the Patriots felt they were in a strong position after Hopkins’s visit. The veteran receiver was well-received by current players, and the presence of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien in New England only helped the team’s case. Some of Hopkins’s most impressive seasons came with O’Brien as his head coach in Houston. The idea of reuniting with his former head coach kept the Patriots in contention, alongside Tennessee.
The feeling for weeks has been that New England liked Hopkins, according to Phil Perry of NBCS Boston. He clearly still has gas in the tank and is familiar with their new offensive coordinator’s system. He would also provide some veteran depth and leadership at a position that has two players with significant injury history in JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker. Providing their young, developing quarterback with a star receiver could prove invaluable.
As much as they like him, though, nobody was expecting them to pay the big bucks to obtain him. They reportedly had the ability to match the Titans offer. According to Perry, they could’ve beaten Tennessee’s offer if they really wanted to. Instead, Fowler reports that New England’s “base financial package wasn’t in the same ballpark as what (the) Titans offered.” Hopkins will head to Nashville, and the Patriots will have to hope that their wide receiving corps will have what it takes to get the job done.
“the presence of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien in New England only helped the team’s case.”
I would have said the exact opposite given Hopkins bailing from Houston when O’Brien was the HC/GM there.
I suppose that was mostly from a familiarity standpoint for the scheme. Personally, you may have been right-after all, Hopkins did sign elsewhere…
I’d be curious to see how much Bill O’Brien was a draw or repel.
Lol here are your choices, either MCCorkle and last place in the AFCE for less money or Tennessee and fighting for second place in the South with Tannehill. Both aren’t great and neither will make the postseason, but at least he got a bag..right?
It’s really time that Kraft fire the GM BB at this even as the coach he’s the only guy who get on his knees for special teams only players and this offense sux i don’t see how anyone can disagree just look at all the signings he’s made since Brady left only 1 is worth anything and he’ll be gone after the season then you get rid of ur best offensive player to sign juju who’s always injured and doesn’t know the playbook the NFL has clearly left him in the dust
Punctuation is your friend
When Krafts Bob stayed “Bill can have any money for FA he wants,” is pure BS. Kraft Bob has NEVER written a big check. He is so full of crap, it’s who he is.
There’s a salary cap…TF you talking about?
There is always a way around the cap. Where have you been?
Patriots need an actual rebuild right now. They arent close enough to go the Rams route. Find a qb and some receivers first.
Bill B in 2020: Bill Belichick: ‘We sold out and won three Super Bowls,’ New England Patriots salary cap reflects that
Can’t be both a sell out and cheap. Bill is making excuses for himself. That’s it. He’s a terrible GM and looking like a bad coach w/o Tom around. This will be year 4 of nothingness in NE.
In a contest between two teams with poor QBs, Hopkins went with the highest guaranteed paycheck (no surprise). It’s not rocket science and wouldn’t have moved the bar for either team in 2023.
Half of the Patriots fan base are dopes…..The fact that the people crying about not getting an aging back end of his career Diva is really sad. You all watch Julio Jones the last couple of years? That is what Hopkins is at this point.
Wow the drugs must be good in ur town