With his shocking release from the Arizona Cardinals last week, and various clubs looking to secure his services, could free agent wide receiver Deandre Hopkins be eyeing a reunion with former Houston Texans teammate Deshaun Watson in Cleveland?
It is rare that a player of Hopkins’ talent and ability is made available so close to the start of NFL training camp and in the middle of OTA’s, its even rarer that such a player wants to play in Cleveland and for the Browns.
While Kansas City, Buffalo, New England and even his old club Houston have been mentioned as likely landing spots for the man called “Nuc”, one thing that is often missed by fans and media is the relationship forged between players, especially a quarterback and wide receiver, hence the reportedly “strong” chance that Hopkins may suit up in the brown and orange.
They say that history tends to repeat itself, and Watson and Hopkins linking up again, could spell trouble for the rest of the NFL.
From 2017-2019, the Watson-Hopkins connection produced 264 completions for 3,343 yards and 25 touchdowns, per SI’s Russ Heltman
Heltman would go on to state that Hopkins could fit into the X role, with Amari Cooper playing the Z and newly-acquired Elijah Moore working out of the slot. Combine that with Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku flexing out and one of the league’s top running backs in Nick Chubb forcing defenses to be honest, and Hopkins could see a lot of man-to-man coverage on the outside.
Which would be a far cry from what the 30-year-old WR faced out in the desert with Kyler Murray, as he recorded 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns in a suspension-shortened season.
One last factor is cap space, as Cleveland has the third most at $13.8 million behind New England (14.1 million) and the aforementioned Texans ($16.8 million), per CBS Sports, so if it comes down to getting paid and going back to Houston or playing for Bill Belichick and Mac Jones makes the most sense.
But if it comes down to playing with some elite talent and a QB in Watson with whom he is already familiar with and has a special chemistry with, then Cleveland makes the most sense, and is a no-brainer at this point.
The ball is in Hopkins’ court now, and considering his history as one of the league’s most sure-handed playmakers, he won’t be dropping it anytime soon.