Now that the dust has settled in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes, a new report confirms what we basically already knew: the Tennessee Titans had the best offer for the veteran wide receiver.
According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, the Titans and the other frontrunner for Hopkins’ services, the New England Patriots, both had offers that were worth up to $15 million, but the Pats’ was far more incentive-laden to get to that amount, although Breer doesn’t reveal the exact breakdown.
The first is the Patriots, the presumed runner-up. New England was willing to match the max total ($15 million) for 2023, only with a far higher percentage of that total tied to incentives as part of an offer that, structurally at least, looked a little like Kansas City’s offer before the draft. Which leaves Bill Belichick and Bill O’Brien with JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and second-year man Tyquan Thornton at the position.
Of course, the Titans’ offer was more attractive for Hopkins because he gets an annual average of $13 million per year, with the opportunity to earn an extra $3 million via incentives each year.
As for the two Super Bowl contenders who reportedly had at least some interest in Nuk, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, it appears they weren’t major players after trade attempts didn’t work out before the draft.
That brings us to the Chiefs, who I believe would’ve considered circling back. Teams involved felt Hopkins would consider taking less to go to KC or another top contender if the money didn’t get closer to what Odell Beckham Jr. got prior to camps opening. Remember, the Chiefs worked diligently on a deal in April, and had most of it worked out then (they’d talked about a deal with a $4 million base and upside to $10 million, and had worked through trade terms with Arizona), only to have Beckham’s deal (one year, $15 million) poison the well.
Then, there’s the Bills. They, too, had worked through particulars both with Hopkins and the Cardinals pre-draft. But even then, my sense is there was trepidation because of how such a signing could upset the balance of the offense, with Stefon Diggs needing his touches, and Hopkins being a volume receiver. Then, they drafted Dalton Kincaid to play the sort of inside receiver spot Hopkins would have, the Diggs drama escalated, and I’m not sure—as much as they liked Hopkins when they talked to him—they had a another run in them.
Based on their situation at the position, the Titans desperately needed to land Hopkins. Thankfully, they did what was necessary to do so.
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