Report: Hopkins turning down Pats, joining Titans on two-year deal
Report: Hopkins turning down Pats, joining Titans on two-year deal originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots will have to settle for runner-up in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes.
Hopkins is set to sign a two-year, $26 million contract with the Tennessee Titans worth up to $32 million in potential incentives, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
On DeAndre Hopkins’ 2-year, $26M deal with the #Titans, there are $3M available in incentives each year. If he reaches 95 catches, 1,050 yards and 10 TDs, he gets all of it. Here is the full breakdown: https://t.co/WzOTxVEyxB pic.twitter.com/6mnmqCwMhG
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 16, 2023
Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports first reported that Hopkins was expected to land in Tennessee.
The 31-year-old wide receiver met with both New England and Tennessee in free agency last month, but the Titans reportedly were "more aggressive" than the Patriots in their pursuit of Hopkins and apparently were willing to outspend New England to land the five-time Pro Bowler, as our Phil Perry points out.
Feeling for weeks now in Foxboro was that the Patriots liked Hopkins… Knew he’d help… But they wouldn’t be backing up the Brinks truck for him.
Hopkins didn’t wait for an injury in camp. Money was right — and apparently landed closer to OBJ’s $15M than some NFL folks expected.— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) July 16, 2023
With Hopkins off to Tennessee, New England will roll into training camp with a wide receiver group led by JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton, although Smith-Schuster and Thornton both dealt with injuries this spring.
The team also signed tight end Mike Gesicki in free agency to pair with Hunter Henry, so perhaps Bill Belichick is confident enough in his current offensive weapons with new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien running the show.
The Patriots also reportedly have shown interest in running back Dalvin Cook, but Perry recently noted it's possible the team doesn't sign Hopkins or Cook, especially if their price tags are too high.
"I think Bill Belichick is looking at this team as still in sort of a rebuilding phase," Perry said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston's Arbella Early Edition. "And so, even though we know Robert Kraft is desperate to win, and it sounds like he wants the team to be really aggressive, he's left the spending to Bill Belichick. And based on some of what we've seen in terms of how they built their roster, I don't know if they view this as their window to truly contend."