Patriots BREAKING: New England Missing Out as DeAndre Hopkins Set to Sign with AFC Rival
Rule it an incomplete pass. The New England Patriots have apparently missed out on signing coveted free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins, as multiple reports Sunday afternoon say indicate the former five-time All-Pro will sign a contract next week with the Tennessee Titans.
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport says the Titans will ink Hopkins to a two-year, $26 million contract.
The Patriots had that kind of money - almost $18 million under the salary cap - to sign Hopkins. And they courted him for months, with several players reaching out to help recruit him on social media. The team hosted him during a visit to Foxboro last month. The Titans hosted him in a similar visit days earlier, and both teams offered him a contract.
But several NFL insiders have indicated that the Titans were "more aggressive," and that may have been the deciding factor in the two-team battle. In recent weeks the Patriots fell from being the odds-on favorites to sign the 31-year-old Hopkins, to lagging behind even the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hopkins and Patriots' coach Bill Belichick have a long-standing mutual respect, and New England certainly needed a new playmaker at receiver. The team lost 2022 leading receiver Jakobi Meyers in free agency, but replaced him by signing former Chiefs' star JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Pats haven't enjoyed a 1,000-yard receiver since Julian Edelman in 2019.
In May, Hopkins went public with his preferences for a new team:
*Quarterback that loves the game and brings everyone on board with him.
*Great defense - "Defense wins championships. Gotta have a great D-Line."
*Stable management - Because he says he's been through 4 general managers in his career.
The Pats boasted obvious stability in coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, and a Top 10 defense in 2022. But in the end, Hopkins went with the Titans' more lucrative offer.
In Tennessee, Patriots' Hall of Famer Mike Vrabel will pair Hopkins will star running back Derrick Henry to give Titans' quarterback Ryan Tannehill formidable offensive weapons. Vrabel was the linebackers coach and later the defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans when Hopkins was voted to two of his five Pro Bowls. He also posted 104 receptions for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019, when current Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was calling the plays for the Texans.
Hopkins was also linked to the Buffalo Bills, so at least the Patriots can breathe a sigh of relief that he didn't land in the AFC East.
New England won't play the Titans in the regular season, but might get a look at Hopkins when it visits Tennessee for its final preseason game Aug. 25 in Nashville.
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