The status of All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins was a major storyline all offseason long in the NFL. Would the Arizona Cardinals really just release one of the best pass-catchers from the past decade without getting anything in return? It seemed hard to believe right up until the moment he was cut from the team, allowing the 31-year-old to market his services to the other 31 organizations.
Expectations pointed to Hopkins quickly landing on his feet in another city, likely with a team that made the playoffs a season ago and still held a strong chance to return to the postseason in 2023-24. But that’s not what happened. Hopkins instead sat without a contract from May 27 to July 15, when the Tennessee Titans agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract.
While Hopkins may be pleased with a chance to play against his original team twice per season as a member of the Titans instead of the Houston Texans, the five-time Pro Bowl wideout says he tried joining a number of other teams first.
“Detroit Lions, they didn’t want me. Dallas Cowboys didn’t want me. Giants didn’t want me. S—. Who else ain’t want me? San Fran ain’t want me.”
DeAndre Hopkins on his free agency interest
Hopkins says he called each of these teams, all of whom were on his “list” of franchises he’d like to play for, but not a single one of them returned his calls.
Despite the disinterest, Hopkins remains as confident as ever in his abilities as he heads into his 11th NFL season.
“It ain’t too many people out there that can say honestly that they can lock me down, guard me for a full four quarters.”
That may be true, and soon enough, Hopkins will get his chance to prove it. Unfortunately, none of those four teams mentioned above are scheduled to face the Titans in the regular season. This means if Hopkins wants any kind of revenge against the teams who overlooked him, it will have to come during the postseason or the following year during his second season in Tennessee.
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