The New England Patriots aren’t out of the running for free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but they also didn’t offer enough money to get him to put pen to paper during his visit to Foxboro last week.
That begs the question: How much money is the All-Pro wideout really looking for in his next contract, and how far apart are those numbers from what the Patriots offered?
The Athletic’s Chad Graff touched on multiple questions facing the Patriots in a write-up on Thursday. When delving into the Hopkins topic, he noted every indication pointed to the star receiver wanting to surpass Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-year, $15 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens.
That would make sense considering Beckham didn’t play a snap of football in 2022, and he’s also returning from an ACL injury at 30 years old. Most would argue Hopkins is the better receiver at this point in their respective careers. Hopkins missed half of the season with the Arizona Cardinals and still put up 717 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
That’s clearly still elite playmaking at its finest.
So it would make sense for him to want a better deal than Beckham. But can he actually get it? Graff wrote:
Indications are that Hopkins wants to exceed the one-year, $15 million deal that Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Baltimore Ravens this spring. Is Belichick willing to give him that, even though Hopkins is 31 years old and has missed a combined 15 games the last two seasons?
Beckham landed a good deal for himself, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right deal for the market.
The other thing working against Hopkins right now is timing. Most of the NFL rosters are already set with it only being a month away from training camp. Could this be a situation where Hopkins is simply forced to take the best offer on the table?
He’s obviously in no rush because so much can happen in a month. One injury or mishap could suddenly make wide receiver a need for a team that’s currently set at the position.
But the Patriots are obviously confident in playing the same waiting game. In the end, they’re banking on their offer from both a financial and team perspective to be enough to convince Hopkins to jump aboard.
