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DeAndre Hopkins is reportedly visiting with the New England Patriots beginning on Wednesday and into Thursday.
Hopkins' visit with the Patriots is the second he'll take since becoming a free agent as he visited the Tennessee Titans earlier in the week. It's also the only visit he has scheduled for the foreseeable future.
It should be the last visit he takes as part of his free agency tour.
Here are four reasons why Bill Belichick and Co. need to make sure Hopkins doesn't leave Foxborough without signing a deal.
Patriots already dealing with injuries at wide receiver.
When the Patriots took the field for organized team activities the last two weeks and for mandatory minicamp this week, there was one big name missing: JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Patriots' biggest signing of the offseason wasn't seen on the field for any of the five offseason practices made available to the media. The reason appears to be due to a knee injury Smith-Schuster suffered at the end of the 2022 season with the Kansas City Chiefs as the Patriots are being cautious with his workload, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported on Sunday.
Smith-Schuster isn't the only Patriots receiver that was hobbled this spring. Second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton missed the last four practices made available to the media as he's dealing with a soft-tissue injury, according to Reiss.
Receivers fully available during last week's open OTA:
DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, Kendrick Bourne, Demario Douglas, Tre Nixon, Malik Cunningham (new to the position) and Raleigh Webb (one offensive snap last year).
Not ideal for one of these 90ish-man practices. https://t.co/vCCf974pwx
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) June 5, 2023
The injuries to Smith-Schuster and Thornton gave us a bleak look at how the Patriots' receiving group might be if any of their top four receivers suffer an injury. Many of Mac Jones' targets during the offseason practices went to the tight ends. While Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki are good pass-catchers relative to their positions, neither are really major receiving threats.
Of course, training camp is still six weeks away and the start of the regular season is also three months away. But even something as small as a tweaked ankle suffered by Smith-Schuster, Thornton, DeVante Parker or Kendrick Bourne will mean that a sixth-round rookie or an undrafted rookie will move up to the No. 4 spot on the wide receiver depth chart.
DeAndre Hopkins would instantly become their best receiver.
And not only would Hopkins instantly become the best receiver on the Patriots, but he'd also be the best receiver they've had since at least 2017, when they traded for Brandin Cooks. Honestly, Hopkins would probably be the best receiver they've had since Randy Moss' last prime season in 2009.
Sure, Hopkins is 31 years old and has dealt with some health issues in recent seasons. He's produced in a major way though when he's been on the field. While he's only played 19 games over the last two seasons due to injury and a suspension, Hopkins has recorded 106 receptions for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns over that stretch.
Prior to the last two seasons, Hopkins was undeniably one of the best receivers, if not the best receiver, in football. He recorded at least 1,100 receiving yards in six of the first eight seasons of his career. The two seasons he didn't reach that number were his rookie season, when he had 802 receiving yards, and in 2016, when he had 954 receiving yards as the Texans shuffled around quarterbacks throughout the year.
.@DeAndreHopkins does it again!
Hop hauls in the 30-yard TD for his second of the night. #WeAreTexans
📺: #INDvsHOU on @NFLNetwork | @NFLonFOX | @PrimeVideo
How to watch: https://t.co/I6INVckndX pic.twitter.com/hljtSDKeKg— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2019
The only other receiver on the Patriots' roster that's even sniffed those numbers in their career is Smith-Schuster, who had one big season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018. He's had several good seasons over his career, and Parker has had a couple of good seasons as well, but none of them have present the upside that Hopkins brings.
Hopkins would also quickly become one of their best players.
The Patriots' roster might look well depth-wise as they seem to have a high floor. But what they lack is high-end talent.
Last season, they only had Pro Bowler: Matthew Judon. Over the last three seasons, they've had six players be named Pro Bowlers. Of those six, three of them aren't on the team anymore (J.C. Jackson, Stephon Gilmore and Jake Bailey), one is a special teamer (Matthew Slater), one made it as an alternate (Mac Jones) and the other, of course, is Judon.
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You could make the argument that Patriots have some players on the roster that have Pro Bowl upside. Michael Onwenu, Kyle Dugger, Rhamondre Stevenson and Marcus Jones (as a returner) all probably had strong cases to make it last year. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore seems like a player who could make it in 2023, as well.
But all of those players seem to be fringe stars at best. And the positions they are among the best at are the least valuable in the NFL.
In a league that values the passing game more than ever, the Patriots need stars. Hopkins is undeniably a star.
The cost doesn't appear to be too steep.
Prior to the Arizona Cardinals releasing Hopkins, the cost for the receiver appeared to be a bit much. The team wanted draft capital and for the team trading him to eat a lot of his salary.
Now that Hopkins has been released, the Patriots don't have to worry about the former. In terms of salary, it doesn't seem like signing Hopkins should be much of an issue, either. An executive told the Monday Morning Quarterback's Albert Breer that he guesses Hopkins will sign a deal worth $8 to $10 million.
That's a low cost for a receiver with top-10 potential as the market for receivers has exploded over the last couple of seasons with some of the league's best at the position earning well over $20 million per season. The Patriots have a little more than $13 million in cap space as of Wednesday afternoon and have multiple avenues to clear up even more space if they need it to sign Hopkins or need more room to operate during the season.
So, money shouldn't be an issue in trying to sign Hopkins.
They owe it to Mac Jones – and themselves.
Following a strong rookie season, Jones couldn't have been set up for a worse Year 2 than the one he had. Belichick opted to replace longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels with Matt Patricia, who called the plays on offense, and Joe Judge, who coached the quarterbacks.
As you know by now, the Patricia-Judge experiment ended up being a disaster. Jones was seen visibly upset on the sideline multiple times during games. On top of that, the receivers weren't great and the offensive line regressed.
The Patriots did some fine patch-up work with their pass-catchers this offseason. But the offensive line still appears to be a messy situation with Trent Brown already missing practice time as there really doesn't appear to be any sure-things for the Patriots at offensive tackle.
Not only would signing Hopkins make Jones' life easier though, but it would also allow the Patriots to have a better idea as to what they have at quarterback. They have to make a decision on Jones' pricey fifth-year option next offseason and he becomes extension eligible. If you can put at least a decent offensive situation around Jones this season and he plays well, you'll know Jones is your quarterback of the future. If he struggles to get the ball to Hopkins, maybe Jones isn't your quarterback of the future.
In addition, the Patriots were just a bad product to watch last season. The offense was joyless as they ranked last in red zone efficiency and made several mistakes each game. Signing Hopkins wouldn't solve of the Patriots' problems, but it would give them the most juice they've had since Tom Brady left in 2020.
