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Free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is adding another stop to his free agency tour. After visiting the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, he will visit the New England Patriots next week. The veteran wideout was released by the Arizona Cardinals last month and has interest from several teams around the league. Hopkins did list five quarterbacks on the IAMATHLETE podcast he would want to catch passes from, and Mac Jones is absent from the list. That being said, the chance to play for Bill Belichick could see Hopkins leaving with a contract.
Former #AZCardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins is set to visit the #Patriots next week, sources say. This is after his #Titans visit, as Hopkins’ free agent market heats up. New England could add a top pass-catcher for Mac Jones. pic.twitter.com/ip2KCk2pLN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 9, 2023
Hopkins has spent 10 seasons in the NFL. He was with the Houston Texans for the first seven years before he was infamously traded to the Arizona Cardinals. Hopkins has been with the team for the last three years but hasn’t been able to maintain the caliber of play we were accustomed to seeing from him. In 2020 he played in 16 games and had 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. Due to injuries, he hasn’t replicated those numbers over the last two combined seasons other than bringing in 11 total touchdowns.
Hopkins finished the 2022 season playing in nine games with 64 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns. He dealt with ever-changing quarterback play between Kyler Murray, Trace McSorley, Colt McCoy and David Blough. When looking at the Patriots’ receiving corps from last year, his stats would have made him the second-best receiver on the team. He would have been only behind Jakobi Meyers, now a Las Vegas Raider. Hopkins would cement himself as the WR1 for New England as they look to keep up in the AFC East.