By Kenny Burgess Contributor
Updated 7/17/23 8:59am ET
One of the biggest players remaining on the free-agent market chose his destination for next season. The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with five-time Pro Bowl receiver Deandre Hopkins and signed him to a two-year, $26 million deal worth up to as much as $32 million with incentives.
The Titans aren’t necessarily considered Super Bowl contenders for the upcoming season, having finished 7-10 after a disappointing 2022 campaign. Hopkins does have some ties to some of the coaches in Tennessee and that could have been part of his motivation to choose the Titans. The head coach, Mike Vrabel, and offensive coordinator, Tim Kelly, were both in Houston for a time with Hopkins, who caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019 when Kelly was calling the plays for the Texans. Hopkins became the Titans’ top receiving option after the Titans’ performance last year — Tennessee’s receivers had just two 100-yard games and didn’t have a player on the roster with a 500-yard receiving season in their career.
The addition of Hopkins did slightly change the Titans’ betting outlook as their odds of winning the AFC South got shorter, moving from +350 to +300. Oddsmakers however don’t see this addition as enough to push the Titans over the top as their odds to win the AFC and the Super Bowl didn’t move at all. Tennessee’s odds to win the AFC currently sit at +5000 and its odds to win the Super Bowl are +8000. DraftKings has Hopkins’ season total props up already at 850.5 yards and 4.5 TDs.
At the start of last season, was suspended for violating the NFL’s PED policy, and only played in nine games the whole season. No matter, Hopkins still saw some playing time on the field and managed to rack up 64 catches for 717 yards to go along with three touchdowns.
It’s unknown if Hopkins will be a difference-maker for the Titans or if he’ll be able to return to his pro bowl form. What we do know is Hopkins makes the Titans a better team and will give them a better chance to make a run for the Lombardi Trophy this season.
Photo credit: Google Creative Commons License
