Report: Ball in Belichick’s court regarding Hopkins, Patriots
Former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins’ free agency tour continued this week when he met with the New England Patriots on Wednesday and Thursday, following his visit with the Tennessee Titans earlier in the week.
While Hopkins came out of the Patriots visit without a new deal, multiple reports indicated that the meeting went well for both parties, and The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported that there’s “optimism” about Hopkins signing with New England.
Ultimately, whether or not that happens might come down to the amount of money Hopkins is seeking and whether or not the Patriots are willing to spend enough to ink the five-time Pro Bowl and five-time All-Pro receiver.
And according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the ball is in Bill Belichick’s court as far as the franchise reaching a deal with Hopkins.
“What I’ve continued to hear from different people down there is that this is really gonna come down to Bill,” Breer said during an appearance Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich”. “And it’s sort of self-explanatory with everything here for the last 23 years. But I think one thing that came across is this is going to have to be on Bill’s terms. And I think the fact that Bill and Hopkins spent one-on-one time (Thursday) at the end of the visit, tells me that those terms have been discussed.
“And are Bill’s terms now getting closer to what Hopkins’ terms for going to a team would be? That to me is the question. Because I still think money is a factor. If money was less of a factor, I think he’d be a Buffalo Bill or a Kansas City Chief now.”
The Patriots are building a solid core of receivers with JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker, but the addition of Hopkins would obviously take their receiving corps to the next level.
Last season, Hopkins tallied a team-high 717 receiving yards with three touchdowns and had 64 catches in nine games for the Arizona Cardinals, who released Hopkins on May 26.
The 2013 first-round draft pick posted 221 receptions for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns across three seasons with the Cardinals.
We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class. Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class. Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.
Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
