Hopkins Hope: Patriots 'Optimistic' at Signing WR

Two new reports are fueling hope that the New England Patriots will sign coveted free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Bill Belichick may not be a "travel agent," but he'd better be good at hospitality.

After giving his New England Patriots the day off from mandatory minicamp practice Wednesday morning and heading for an off-site destination for some team-building fun, Belichick will be back in Foxboro this afternoon to host coveted free agent DeAndre Hopkins.

Call it more team-building?

After meeting with the Tennessee Titans Monday, Hopkins is scheduled to meet with the Patriots Wednesday and Thursday and there are positive rumblings that the team may not let the five-time All-Pro receiver out of town without signing a contract.

With a need for an elite target and enough salary-cap room to get a deal done, the lone stumbling block is believed to be the past, rocky relationship between Hopkins and Pats' offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien when the two were in Houston together with the Texans.

But last week O'Brien said he was "on board" with making Hopkins a Patriot. And now, according to ESPN, the two are on the same page with "no animosity at all."

If that's the case, it may be the reason for optimism. A report by The Athletic says "there’s optimism the two sides can find a way to reach an agreement."

The Patriots signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki this offseason, but even with the addition O'Brien - and the subtraction of wretched play-caller Matt Patricia - there is a need for more offensive weapons to kick-start an offense that scored 17 fewer touchdowns in 2022 than 2021. Hopkins was All-Pro three times in O'Brien's offense in Houston.

Writes The Athletic:

"There is no denying Hopkins can still be one of the most dominant receivers in the league when he’s on the field, but the two sides have to decide whether they’re a good match for one another. And it sounds like there’s some motivation to find that common ground.”

Sports Illustrated, meanwhile, is quoting two NFL team executives who think the value on Hopkins - at age 31 and arguably entering the free-agent pool at an odd time - is a fraction of what we think.

"One said that if he were a free agent in March, he’d still see Hopkins as an $18 million player on a multiyear deal, but 'it’s such a strange time to reach the market; everyone has already spent and allocated,” Breer writes.

And more: “Another (exec) guessed he’d get between $8 million and $10 million on a one-year deal …”

With no other visits scheduled, the DeAndre Derby at this point is between the Pats and the Titans.

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