DeAndre Hopkins has been a free agent for two weeks, waiting patiently for teams to give him a call. The Tennessee Titans are the first to bite as Hopkins will fly to Nashville to meet with Tennessee on Sunday, according to the NFL Network.
This will be Hopkins’ first free agent visit with a team, and an opportunity to return to the AFC South while playing for Mike Vrabel. Hopkins and Vrabel were together with the Houston Texans for four years, even though Vrabel coached the defensive side of the ball. The familiarity and need for a No. 1 wide receiver in Tennessee make the Titans an attractive destination for Hopkins.
The Titans’ top three wide receivers are Treylon Burks, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Kyle Philips, creating a need for the position in what could be Ryan Tannehill’s final season as the starting quarterback (Tannehill is a free agent at the end of the year).
Hopkins has the eighth-most receiving yards through a player’s first 10 seasons in NFL history (11.298) and the fourth-most receptions after a player’s first 10 seasons (853). Hopkins averaged 7.1 catches per game (fourth in NFL) and 79.7 receiving yards per game (10th in NFL) despite only playing nine games last season. He’s been a first team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his 10 NFL seasons.
Vrabel has even commented on Hopkins since his release, saying the team is “focused on the players they have here.” Tennessee never did rule out Hopkins, even though Vrabel made it appear as if the team wasn’t interested.
Other teams have been interested in Hopkins, but Tennessee gets the first opportunity at convincing him to play for its franchise.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
June 7, 2023 | 2:50 pm
