Michael Chow / USA TODAY NETWORK
These are the teams who are in the running for D-Hop right now.
It’s almost July, and DeAndre Hopkins still hasn’t signed with a team. There’s no doubt that D-Hop is still the hottest free agent on the market, and there are numerous teams who are interested in signing him — but getting that name to paper seems to be the sticking point.
As it stands there seems to be a gulf when it comes to money. Hopkins is still seeking a top-tier contract, but at this point there aren’t a lot of teams with the available cap space to make that happen. It’s also unclear if it’s a wise decision to give Hopkins a big contract after back-to-back middling seasons.
Still, if you’re a team in need of a wide receiver: You’re absolutely not going to find one better than Hopkins. This could lead to someone overspending to correct their problems or trying to leverage Hopkins’ recent performance into an incentive-laden deal with multiple performance escalators.
As it stands right now, here are the top teams poised to land Hopkins based on latest reports. Sal Paolantonio had the following to say on ESPN Radio:
DeAndre Hopkins going to end up in New England?
I believe so. There’s mutual interest. Bill likes him — Bill Belichick likes DeAndre Hopkins, likes his game. And DeAndre Hopkins likes the situation in New England, knows Bill O’Brien. It’s a perfect fit at a time when they need a wide receiver that can get separation. They need somebody like that. But you have to remember, I’m talking to Keyshawn Johnson here and he knows it: when you go to New England, you’re going to the Navy Seals. You’re going to a different kind of culture. DeAndre Hopkins has to understand that when he goes there, he’s going to have to fit in. They’re going to make sure that he fits in, but he’s going to have to fit in there with what they do. Carolina’s lurking, Cleveland is lurking for sure. But if I’m DeAndre Hopkins, do I want to go to Carolina with a rookie [quarterback]? Do I want to go to Cleveland? Or do I want to go to New England where I can be coached by Bill Belichick? … The Patriots are trying to be relevant in the division. Right now, they’re the fourth team in the division. You bring in DeAndre Hopkins and he is going to transform them into sort of into a buzz right away in the AFC East.
Let’s break these teams down.
No. 1: New England Patriots
While the Patriots don’t have the most available cap space of interested teams, they do have something most teams can’t offer: Coaching familiarity. This feels a whole lot like the Randy Moss situation when Moss signed with New England to revitalize his career after a disappointing year in Oakland.
Both Hopkins and the Patriots have interest. New England needs receiver help in the worst possible way, and with Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator (D-Hop’s former coach in Houston), he knows they will find a way to use him.
This could only be a short-term deal, but with the mammoth upside that if Hopkins busts out like Moss did back in 2007, he’d be setting himself up to be a huge prize in free agency in the future.
No. 2: Cleveland Browns
The once white-hot reports of Hopkins to Cleveland have cooled recently, but the interest is obviously there. The Browns need to win right now, not only to capitalize on their tremendous defensive talent, but more-importantly, justify the mammoth trade for Deshaun Watson.
There’s no mincing words: Watson sucked last year. He wasn’t close to the player worth mortgaging the future of a franchise for. That could absolutely be attributable to rust from being away from football for so long, but it’s absolutely on the Browns to set him up to be as successful as possible in his first full season starting following his suspension.
The handcuff of Watson and Hopkins is obvious. They lit it up in Houston and have natural chemistry. If Hopkins wants to win right now, then the wide open (and brutally competitive) AFC North might be his best landing spot.
No. 3: Carolina Panthers
This is the dark horse to watch for in all this. If New England represents coaching familiarity, and Cleveland player familiarity — then Carolina is locational familiarity.
Hopkins, a native of Central, South Carolina who played at Clemson, would get a heroes welcome in coming to the Panthers that he wouldn’t necessarily receive anywhere else. In addition, Carolina is in a position to over-spend if they think he’s the missing piece, currently having almost $27M in available cap space — third most in the NFL.
The question becomes whether money would be enough to tempt him to come to a rebuilding team like this. Playing with a rookie QB is a big ask, and there’s no way the Panthers are in position to challenge for a Super Bowl this year. That said, the NFC South is the least talented division in football and really could be won by anyone.
So … where does his sign?
The most obvious landing spot right now is Cleveland. I absolutely understand the mutual interest in coaching found in New England, but this has been the one team that’s made the most sense the entire time. They have the money to pay Hopkins decently in year one, and the team that can go the deepest in the playoffs.
None of these three teams can really be ruled out, but there’s a very good chance that all this flutter of D-Hop to New England is a chess move designed to pressure the Browns to get off their butts and make a deal.
