Patriots New Leading Contender for DeAndre Hopkins?

The field for free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins could be shrinking, leaving the New England Patriots as potential favorites.

The New England Patriots did sign a wide receiver from free agency on Monday, just not the one that everyone has been waiting for. Rhode Island's Ed Lee filled one of the remaining two roster spots for the Patriots, giving them 89 players. That leaves one opening, which has fans hoping it will be filled by DeAndre Hopkins.

It seems New England's path to his signature may be more straightforward than many predicted in the aftermath of the Arizona Cardinals releasing the star wide-out. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently shed light on where things stand in the Hopkins saga.

“At this point, I’d say both those teams would sign him only at a discount,” Breer writes. “The Chiefs gave money that would’ve gone to Hopkins to left tackle Donovan Smith. The Bills traded up for Dalton Kincaid, lessening their need for a chain-moving receiver and giving them another mouth to feed in an offense that has to get the ball plenty to Stefon Diggs”

The Chiefs and Bills are two teams that Hopkins self-admittingly would like to play for, as he revealed in his interview with the I AM ATHLETE podcast. But the salary cap is an issue for both teams, meaning Hopkins would have to take less money if he wants to play for those teams. 

The same cannot be said of the Patriots, who still have $14.2 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap. If Hopkins is looking for a deal where he can get paid similar to what he got in Arizona, then New England makes the most sense. While, at 31 years old, he wants to chase a ring, then both the Chiefs and Bills would allow him to do that just for less money.

Breer's report on Monday also answered a big question about whether the new Patriots' offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien would support the signing of Hopkins. Breer wrote that O'Brien would be "on board" with the signing, despite the issues they had in Houston.

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