Once the NFL draft is over, we traditionally enter a very quiet period in the NFL year. From now until the start of training camps, there is a scarcity of news and many who report on the NFL, including this writer, are recharging their batteries in preparation for the new season. On Friday though, I was awoken from my offseason slumber with the stunning news that the Arizona Cardinals have released DeAndre Hopkins. With Arizona in full rebuild mode, and possibly tanking for Caleb Williams, they have decided to part ways with the soon to turn 31-year-old after surprisingly failing to find a trade partner for him. This should be a player very much in demand though and it was reportedly the size of his contract, rather than a lack of interest in the player, that led to no trade. Despite only playing nine games last season, due to his suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, he still managed 64 receptions for 717 receiving yards on a struggling Cardinals team. There is no doubt that the three-time All Pro is still one of the best receivers in the league and many teams could see him as the final piece they need to get to the Super Bowl.

Hopkins is keen for a fresh start too and has a very clear idea of what sort of team he wants to join. He recently appeared on the ‘I AM ATHLETE’ podcast and named Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert as the five quarterbacks that he would most like to work with. He also clarified though that he doesn’t necessarily need to play with a great QB and it is more important that he plays with a quarterback who loves the game and can bring everybody on board with him. On the same podcast, he also listed stable management and a top defense (as defense wins championships) as important factors for him when it comes to deciding his next team.

Which teams satisfy these criteria then and would also be interested in, and be able to afford, the former Texans and Cardinals player?

Josh Allen was the first name that Hopkins mentioned when asked about his ideal quarterback to play with and the Bills are a team that is in need of receiving help. They have one of the top wideouts in the league in Stefon Diggs, but they clearly need another weapon for Allen and someone to take some of the burden off Diggs. Gabe Davis has been too inconsistent to be a reliable WR2 and while rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid was drafted to provide another receiving option, bringing in Hopkins to play on the opposite sideline to Diggs would have a major impact on this offense. After losing to the Chiefs in the AFC conference game in 2021, then again to the same team the following year in that divisional round game, the Bills were one of the favourites to go all the way last year. Instead, they bowed out meekly to the Bengals in the divisional round. They are under some pressure to get all the way to the Super Bowl this year and the addition of Hopkins could be the exact sort of difference maker they are looking for. An issue though is money. The Bills only have $1.5 million of cap space and so will need to do some serious manoeuvring to make room for the sort of contract that Hopkins will be after. It could very well happen though.

Another quarterback that Hopkins mentioned was the league’s reigning MVP, Patrick Mahomes. It is obvious why he would be keen to join the reigning Super Bowl champions and like the Bills, the Chiefs are a serious contender for the upcoming season who could do with some help at receiver. Although, after winning the Lombardi trophy last year without a WR1, they may not see it as a necessity to bring in a top pass catcher. They have been talking up the impact that their young receivers like Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and second round draft pick Rashee Rice can make this upcoming season, but, on paper, this trio plus Marquez Valdes-Scantling make an uninspiring receiving group. There is no doubt that adding Hopkins would be a massive upgrade and give the Chiefs offense that extra threat they have been missing since the departure of Tyreek Hill. Again though, the issue is money. The Chiefs only have $650,000 in cap space and showed last season, when letting Tyreek Hill go, that they will not overspend on a player. If Hopkins can be more flexible with contract negotiations though and the Chiefs can do some financial manoeuvring, then the Chiefs could have a devastating looking offense next season.

The third quarterback on DeAndre Hopkins’ list, and the last one I will mention in this article, is Lamar Jackson. After a tumultuous start to the Ravens’ offseason due to the contract negotiations with Jackson, the Ravens have signed their franchise quarterback to a big money, long-term deal and have also signed a major new weapon for him in OBJ. On paper, OBJ, Rashod Bateman and rookie Zay Flowers make an appealing trio for Jackson to target, but when you consider that OBJ hasn’t played since suffering that knee injury in Superbowl LVI and Rashod Bateman’s season ended in week 8 due to a foot injury, adding to the wide receiver corps makes a lot of sense for the Ravens. Hopkins is far more reliable and productive than any receiver currently on the roster and he would give Lamar Jackson a weapon of the quality that he has never had in his NFL career. This would definitely go a long way to repairing the damage caused by the contract negotiations and would help the Ravens compete with AFC juggernauts like the Chiefs, Bills and Bengals. Unlike the Bills and Chiefs, the Ravens have cap space, with a current $12 million available, so a deal for Hopkins is a real possibility for Baltimore.

It has now been 27 years since the Cowboys were in the Super Bowl and in Mike McCarthy’s fourth season as head coach, he is under a lot of pressure to deliver. To make matters worse, division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles stormed to the NFC title last season and again look the strongest team in the conference heading into the new season. The Cowboys though have a good defense led by Micah Parsons and their offense ended last season 4th in the league in points scored, despite losing Dak Prescott to injury for five games. They don’t need to add a lot to get to a position in which they can seriously challenge but one area in which they do need to improve is wide receiver. Ceedee Lamb wasn’t coy earlier in the offseason about the need to bring in some help to take the burden off himself and the Cowboys duly brought in Brandin Cooks. Adding DeAndre Hopkins though to Lamb and Cooks would give the Cowboys one of the strongest wide receiver trios in the league and put them in a strong position to tackle the Eagle’s NFC supremacy. They have $10.5 million in cap space to work with and owner Jerry Jones does have a penchant for superstar names. He has previously said that "You’d be shocked to know the size of check I would write for a Super Bowl”, and the Cowboys may feel that now is the time to go all-in to get back to the big game. After seven years in Houston, Texas is an area of the country that DeAndre Hopkins knows well and likes. He could very well be returning to the state soon.

The upcoming season for the Cleveland Browns is an extremely interesting one. After spending an awful lot of money, and a great deal of moral currency, in signing Deshaun Watson to a long-term deal, the Browns are in a position where they must get some success in order for it all to be worthwhile. Whether they can win largely depends on how well their controversial new quarterback performs, especially after an extremely underwhelming return to game time at the end of last season. What better way to get the best out of him than to bring in the WR1 that he had so much success with in Houston?

While playing together for the Texans, Hopkins and Watson struck up a special connection on the pitch, and a solid friendship off it, so Hopkins clearly would have no hesitation in playing with his old quarterback again. The issue, as ever, is money, with the Browns needing to make some room having only around $7 million in cap space currently. Browns GM Andrew Berry needs to be aggressive though in order to make the Deshaun Watson move work and he may decide the financial expense for Hopkins is worth it as they are already all in on Watson. This offseason, Berry has recruited Elijah Moore, Marquise Goodwin and rookie Cedric Tilman in an effort to give Watson more weapons but none of these come close to the quality of DeAndre Hopkins. It would be remiss of the Browns to not at least fully explore the possibility of reuniting the former Texans teammates.

Dan Rowe

Where next for DeAndre Hopkins?

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