A massive trade proposal has the Tennessee Titans sending star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to an AFC contender in a move that could shake up the race for Super Bowl 59.
DeAndre Hopkins is in the final season of a two-year pact he signed with the Titans in 2023 free agency following his release from the Arizona Cardinals. Having lost their first two games of 2024, Tennessee already feels poised to sell at the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
The five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver is easily Tennessee’s biggest trade chip, and any team in playoff contention should be keen on adding “Nuk” to their roster. This is a player with seven 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, after all.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine proposed a blockbuster trade idea that has Tennessee trading Hopkins to the Cleveland Browns:
“DeAndre Hopkins is a logical hypothetical target. The 32-year-old showed he’s still got it with a 1,000-yard season in 2023, but the Titans are in the middle of a rebuild and the veteran is on the final year of his contract.
That’s not to mention the chemistry that Hopkins already has with (quarterback Deshaun) Watson from their days together in Houston. A receiving trio of Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and DeAndre Hopkins would leave Watson with no excuses not to return to Pro Bowl form.”
I watched every DeAndre Hopkins snap from Week 2, and two things seem to be true:
1. Hop still isn’t moving very well
2. He’s getting open anyways, and the Titans aren’t getting him the ballOn this first route, I sure hope he’s not running full speed. Because that doesn’t look… pic.twitter.com/LJJ7K00i6a
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) September 18, 2024
The Browns’ top wide receiver is Amari Cooper, but he’s a pending free agent who turns 31 next year. Their No. 2 receiver, Jerry Jeudy, has never hit the 1,000-yard mark and may be better suited as a WR3.
Cleveland’s biggest concern right now is at quarterback, with Deshaun Watson showing zero signs of regaining the Pro Bowl-like form we saw in Houston. GM Andrew Berry can’t get out of Watson’s $230 million fully guaranteed contract yet, so bringing in a star wide receiver like DeAndre Hopkins makes sense to elevate the offense.
DeAndre Hopkins Would Help Browns Close The Gap With Chiefs
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs again look like the team to beat in the AFC. The Browns must add more playmakers on offense if they’re to make a Super Bowl run, and a player like Hopkins would close the gap with Kansas City.
Kansas City has a top-tier defense, but they’d struggle to contain an offense consisting of Hopkins, Jeudy, Cooper and a Nick Chubb-Jerome Ford rushing duo. So if the price for Hopkins if reasonable, the Browns should pursue a trade for the perennial Pro Bowler.
