Patriots Still in 'Soft Market' for DeAndre Hopkins?

The New England Patriots just signed JuJu Smith-Schuster, but may be still be in the running to trade for Arizona Cardinals' star DeAndre Hopkins.

Last week the New England Patriots let Jakobi Meyers walk and essentially replaced him with JuJu Smith-Schuster.

This week they are ... waiting on DeAndre Hopkins?

Since the Arizona Cardinals star receiver and Patriots coach Bill Belichick gushed over each other late last season, analysts have been connecting the dots. The Pats need a No. 1 receiver. New offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien coached Hopkins with the Houston Texans. The Cardinals publicly established their asking price in a trade for the five-time Pro Bowl selection.

Lots of dots.

But something is holding up Hopkins leaving Arizona. And a former Patriots front-office executive may have the answer.

Michael Lombardi, a former NFL executive who spent 2014-15 in Foxboro, provided some insight on the latest episode of his “GM Shuffle” podcast.

“I think (Hopkins') market is really soft,” Lombardi said. “I don’t think anybody wants to get into the Hopkins business, and then have to redo his contract. From what I’m told, it’s soft. There’s not a lot of action out there on him. He’s a good player, he’s always covered, but he always comes up with the football. But there’s other things that go into this, that I’m not at liberty to discuss that’s probably holding it all back.”

Obviously the Pats believe Smith-Schuster is an upgrade over Meyers, who was their leading receiver last season. But Hopkins would immediately become their No. 1 target.

It appears New England is playing the long game with Hopkins, and creating leverage in the process.

The Pats are reportedly also interested in free agent Odell Beckham Jr. and the Denver Broncos' Jerry Jeudy. And now that the Dallas Cowboys traded for Brandin Cooks for only two late-round draft choices to the Houston Texans, the Cardinals' asking price is likely decreasing.

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