Deshaun Watson is still very good friends with former teammate Deandre Hopkins, and he firmly believes the Cleveland Browns “check all the boxes” for what the current free agent is looking for in his next team.
After a couple of months of speculation and failed attempts at making a trade, the Arizona Cardinals chose to officially cut ties with star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins last week. In releasing him, the Cardinals saved over $8 million for this season and moved on from a player that did not deliver to the level they hoped when they added him to the roster three seasons ago.
While the 30-year-old is no longer the player that was an All-Pro for three straight seasons in the previous decade, he is still an impact talent and reportedly is receiving interest from several contending teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
Also Read: DeAndre Hopkins open to reuniting with Deshaun Watson on Cleveland Browns
However, last week the five-time Pro Bowler admitted his interest in a possible reunion with former Houston Texans teammate Deshaun Watson. It is a feeling that the current Cleveland Browns starting quarterback revealed on Tuesday is mutual, and he plans to give the team’s front office a buzz about the possibility of adding him.
“That’s kind of out of my range of things. All I can do is make a call and see what happens,” Watson said at a Cleveland Browns charity golf tournament this week.
Cleveland Browns record (2022): 7-10
But it seems the two NFL stars aren’t just a couple of former teammates that have mutual respect after a run of success in Houston. Watson revealed the pair are still close friends, and he believes the Cleveland Browns are a perfect fit for the wide receiver looking to play for a competitive team in 2023.
“We’ve been talking since the Houston days. … Our connection, our relationship have always been great. … Of course, we would love to have him. He knows that. I’ll just say this, DeAndre Hopkins would love to be in a place where the opportunity is there for us to win. We check all those boxes and I think for us to know and make sure we check all those boxes on the national stage, we’ve got to go out there and prove it and I think D-Hop would love to be a part of that.”
– Deshaun Watson
All three of Hopkins’ best seasons came with Watson getting the majority of the starting snaps at QB. In potentially signing Hopkins, the Cleveland Browns would have a strong receiver combo in him and Amari Cooper in 2023.