Titans Getting First Crack at Free Agent WR DeAndre Hopkins
NASHVILLE — There are a lot of NFL teams that would love to add free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to their roster, but it's the Tennessee Titans who will get to woo the 10-year veteran first.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Wednesday that Hopkins is flying to Nashville for a Sunday meeting. It's his first ''official visit'' in recruiting parlance, and the Titans — who could use help at wide receiver — get the first chance to impress the Clemson grad who spent seven years in Houston and three in Arizona before getting released on May 30.
"The first thing is we want players that want to be here, and then we'll work through anything else,'' a low-keyed Vrabel said after Wednesday's minicamp practice. "We've brought in a bunch of different players, and DeAndre will be somebody we bring in next week and go through the same visit that we go through with everybody and then we'll start the process.
"I'm past the recruiting. I did that in college. We really just want people that want to be here and if that works out, then you go on to the next step. This will be pretty much it (talking about it) until we sign or don't sign the next player.''
Hopkins had been on the trading block for some time in Arizona, but the Cardinals found no takers. Hopkins had a three-year contract worth nearly $70 million, but after his release, his now a free agent.
It's unlikely that Hopkins will come cheap, but the actual market for him still seems a little unclear, in regards to interest in adding him to a roster, and the price he might come at.
Still, when news broke of Sunday's visit while the Titans were practicing, it was a prime talking point afterward. Second-year wide receiver Treylon Burks, the Titans' current WR-1, has been a Hopkins fan for years, but he also likes Tennessee's current group.
"That's something that I can't control. He's an awesome player, a great player and it would be fun to play with him,'' Burks said. "If we end up getting him, then we get him. If we don't we don't. No offense to him, he's a great player, but I like playing with who we have here.
"100 percent, he would be a great mentor. I've watched D-Hop since I was young and he's one of my favorite players. He just carries himself the right way and his game on the field speaks for itself.''
Rookie Colton Dowell, a Titans seventh-round pick out of Tennessee-Martin, is a big Hopkins fan, too.
"I think he's a great player. I don't know all the details, but he's somebody I've definitely watched before and he's made a lot of nice plays,'' Dowell said.
Hopkins knows Vrabel and new Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly well from their time together in Houston, so he would have familiarity with both the offense and the key people on the coaching staff.
Hopkins has been a prolific receiver — and a thorn in the Titans' side — for years. He has the eighth-most receiving yards through a player's first 10 seasons in NFL history (11,298) and the fourth-most receptions after a player's first 10 seasons (853).
Hopkins averaged 7.1 catches per game, fourth in the league, and 79.7 receiving yards per game last season in nine games. He's been a first-team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his 10 NFL seasons. He's also helped people win lots of fantasy football matchups.
The Titans' receiving corps ranks near the bottom of the league in most projections, so Hopkins would certainly be a huge upgrade, and a nice gift for veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who's in the last year of his contract.
Hopkins, who turned 31 on Monday, would probably prefer to land with a team that's more Super Bowl ready, but coming to the Titans certainly makes them more of a contender in the soft-ish AFC South. Jacksonville won the division last year with a 9-8 record, and Houston and Indianapolis are in full rebuild mode.
Jacksonville is considered the favorite in the AFC South, according to the odds at Fanduel. Jacksonville's odds are at minus-180 while Tennessee is second at plus-380. Getting Hopkins would change both of those numbers dramatically.
