A bit of a surprise on Wednesday has caused a stir amongst New England Patriots fans, following the news of the team extending current wide receiver DeVante Parker to a new three-year deal.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal is worth upwards of $33 million. It’s important to note that the full contract details have yet to be revealed. So it isn’t known exactly how the contract is structured. But the news alone has some wondering if the Patriots are now officially out of the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes.
If you’re one of the latter, you can take a deep breath and calm down.
The Patriots are not out of the running to sign Hopkins. Parker’s new deal won’t impact the team from a salary cap perspective in that regard, particularly when it’s heavy with incentives.
Extending DeVante Parker does not impact signing DeAndre Hopkins CAP-wise at all https://t.co/sjWn0aGRya
— Miguel Benzan Patriots Cap Space is 14,145,985 (@patscap) June 28, 2023
So the Patriots are exactly where they were with Hopkins before the Parker extension.
If anything, it ensures they’ll be able to pair Parker with Hopkins, if they’re able to land on a deal. A receiving room with Hopkins, Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton would be intriguing. What that might mean for a player like Kendrick Bourne, who is playing on the last year of his contract, remains to be seen.
But as of right now, Bourne is firmly in the mix with a unit that still looks shaky on paper. Parker is a great talent when on the field, but he has also been plagued with injuries throughout his career.
At 30 years old, it’s hard to envision that getting any better.
