Titans make a major splash: sign former All Pro WR Hopkins

Early Sunday afternoon, Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports broke the league-shaking news via his personal twitter; Deandre Hopkins was to sign with the Tennessee Titans. The deal is expected to be around 2 years for $26 million with Hopkins being able to bring that number upwards to $32 million with incentives. Hopkins‘ base salary in year 1 will start at $12 million with a chance to eclipse $15 million via incentives, as reported first by Ian Rappoport on his Twitter account @RapSheet. This contract financially puts Deandre in line with fellow star veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham, who signed a 1 year deal with Baltimore back in April for $15 million base salary with a chance to be 18 with incentives. Ultimately, the finances most likely became the biggest factor into where Hopkins wanted to play. Reports suggested that the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Kansas City Chiefs were in the running for Hopkins. That being said, the Bills and Chiefs financially could not make an offer of the same caliber. New England, on the other hand, could have but they have shown hesitation to throw big money in the past despite having landed one of the very best signings ever in Randy Moss when they choose to spend. 

When Hopkins is healthy the talent is still undeniable, but those days may be dwindling away bit by bit. Hopkins caught 64 balls last year for 717 yards and 3 touchdowns in 9 games. A pretty good season for someone who was not only coming off an injury, but a suspension on top of it as well. Titans fans, I'm sure, are more than happy with their team‘s newest big time addition, however there is cause for concern that comes along with this deal.

The concern that remains the most prevalent is Hopkins’ health. Can he stay healthy for a full 17 game schedule? My answer is no. The star wide receiver has not played a full season worth of games since the 2020 season. Now that may not seem like that long ago, but the degree and amount of injuries has steadily ramped up within that time. In 2021 he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss 3 games, only to return to action and tear his MCL on December 13th of the same year. In 2022 he played only 9 games, as he was suspended for the first 6 due to a PED incident, and unfortunately still missed the last two games of the season due to a “flared up” knee. With an injury history that is starting to grow, along with racing father time as Hopkins is 31 years old, there are looming possibilities of this ending negatively for both sides. 

For me, I think that's the direction things are going to take to many Titans fans‘ dismay.  While I do think adding a Deandre Hopkins who can give you anywhere from 10-14 games a season is valuable. It is NOT what the Titans need to make their Super Bowl aspirations a reality. Paying top WR money for a 31 yr old who has had recent injury concerns come up is not the direction I would go. Ryan Tannehill is not a quarterback I would bank on to win a Super Bowl, and with a deal like this, that seems to be the Titans’ plan. Unless they are banking on second round draft pick Will Levis to take over in the near future, but I find that extremely unlikely. 

In conclusion, all signs are pointing to the Tennessee Titans rearing up for a potential 2023 Super Bowl campaign. Adding someone like Deandre Hopkins absolutely takes them multiple steps forward towards said goal. As we all know only time will truly be able to tell, but how far do you think this move ends up taking them?