WR DeAndre Hopkins Joining the Tennessee Titans on a Two-Year $26 Million Deal

DeAndre Hopkins and the Tennessee Titans will sign a two-year, $26 million contract, which would land one of the most prolific wide receivers in the league to a new team. In total, the deal could be worth up to $32 million, with the first year potentially reaching $15 million.

Hopkins was in the mix for joining several teams, and eventually, the top two favorites were the Titans and the New England Patriots, but apparently, the team from Nashville offered better circumstances to one of the best wide receivers over the past decade.

With him onboard, the Titans are once again considered to be potential dark horses for winning the Super Bowl, as they have superstar players in two of three top offensive positions, WR and RB (Derrick Henry).

BREAKING: Titans signing WR DeAndre Hopkins to a 2-year, $26M deal worth up to $32M with incentives. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/0k1KLaYQHU

— NFL (@NFL) July 16, 2023

Hopkins, 31, was drafted in 2013 as the 27th overall pick, coming out of Clemson University. He has 853 receptions in the NFL for 11,298 receiving yards and 71 touchdowns, becoming a five-time All-Pro, and a five-time Pro Bowl player. He was also the NFL receiving touchdown leader in 2017. Six of his ten seasons in the NFL were with 1,100+ receiving yards.

Since moving from the Texans to the Arizona Cardinals, his glory started fading, as the Cards appeared to be a big bust despite having a pretty solid team. In the past two years, Hopkins played only 19 games because of injuries and suspensions.

The franchise from Arizona released Hopkins this May due to a high cap hit of over $30.75 million, the seventh-highest in the NFL, and the biggest among all the receivers, which was too much for the Cards who already had problems earlier with Kyler Murray and his contract.

With his prime reaching an end, Hopkins has a last chance to make something big in the NFL and finally win the Super Bowl. The Titans were one of the biggest favorites for the title in the previous years, mostly due to Derrick Henry. In 2021, they landed Julio Jones, but he didn’t do much to help the team.

What many believe is a massive problem for the head coach Mike Vrabel and the Titans, in general, is their quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. He isn’t an elite passer, and at 35, he isn’t young either. The Titans have a third-round pick from last year, Malik Willis, and Will Levis from this year’s draft, No.33 overall. Tannehill is an experienced but limited player, while on the other side, both youngsters are way more talented but didn’t have a chance to play in the NFL constantly.

Reasons DeAndre Hopkins isn’t washed:

🥇 5.71 Average Cushion 1st
🥈 43.4% Air Yard Share – 2nd
🥈 47% Win Rate Vs Man – 2nd
4️⃣ 51.8% Route Win Rate – 4th
4️⃣ 29.4% Target Share – 4th

Elite Separator. Elite Target Commander. Elite Receiver.#Titanspic.twitter.com/dPWf75LQFd

— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) July 17, 2023

This is where Tennessee, as the franchise, encounters a problem. Whether to develop a young QB and have a player that would cover the most important place on the team for the next several years, or to chase the Super Bowl while Derrick Henry still has enough power in him. Henry is a generational talent and arguably one of the best running backs ever to play the game.

The Titans ended second in the AFC South last year, behind Jacksonville, after winning the division two years in a row. They also had a negative record for the first time after six campaigns.