The Noise on a DeAndre Hopkins-to-NE Deal is Getting Impossible to Ignore

Every league in every professional sport has their Silly Season, where rumors replace facts and real information steps aside to make way for wild speculation. When your Insiders - the Wojs, Schefters, Rapoports and Passans of the world see their messages carpet bombed by personnel departments and agents alike to suit their own agendas. And you have to sift through mounds of triceratops shit to find the true diamonds. So the smart approach is to believe none of what you hear until it becomes official. 

But there's alternative that I prefer. And that is, to embrace it. All of it. The crazier the rumor the better. Which is to say, I choose to believe the things I want to be true. Just like I do in real life. For example, I can't confirm that the attractive MILF in the green sweater who laughed throughout a 30 minute set I did on St. Patrick's night was into me. But believing she went home and named her wand after me gets me through the night, so I go with that. Never letting the truth get in the way of a good story is how I roll. 

Which brings me as quickly as possible back to the sports rumor mill, and the one that is unquestionably the hottest in the NFL at the moment, and that is the Patriots swinging a trade for DeAndre Hopkins. At some point the noise just becomes too deafening to ignore, even if you wanted to. And on this one, I most definitely do not want to. 

These past few days, the name "Hopkins" has spent more time in the Trending section of my Twitter home page than Kevin Hart does on my TV screen. He's been a permanent fixture since the field of teams reportedly in serious talks with the Cardinals for his services was narrowed to about four teams, including the Patriots and Cowboys. It was around then we got word that Hopkins suddenly started following, and being followed by, Mac Jones and Mack Wilson, as well as Dak Prescott:

Now, it's possible that it's a coincidence, and that Hopkins just decided he'd like to be following more guys with names like the baby birds in "Make Way for Ducklings." But now Dallas would appear to be out of the running, thanks to that rare and completely unexpected news that they traded for Brandin Cooks (who must have a moving company on retainer by now):

And this report:

Yahoo - The New England Patriots reportedly have contacted the Arizona Cardinals about trading for DeAndre Hopkins and reportedly have shown interest in free agent Odell Beckham Jr. Those reports both came out last week, however, and we've yet to see the Patriots make a move for either star wide receiver. …

According to Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal, New England is "waiting out the market" on both wide receivers, while another potential suitor, Dallas, is now "out on both" players.

This strategy appears to be paying off for the Patriots in the short term. As Bedard writes, the Cowboys' acquisition of Brandin Cooks for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick should be a "rude awakening" for the Cardinals, who likely will get "much less" for Hopkins than the second-round pick and additional pick that they were reportedly seeking.

The longer the Patriots wait on Hopkins, the more Arizona's asking price could drop, especially if other wideouts get dealt for lesser compensation or if other teams like the Cowboys drop out of the market. …

It seems Hopkins and Beckham are both on their radar as they try to walk the fine line of waiting for a better deal on both players.

I'll put aside Odell Beckham Jr. for now and focus on Hopkins. While I have no reason to doubt GM Belichick is, in fact, in serious talks with Arizona to bring him to Foxboro, we know for a fact GM Judon is serious as well:

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As is Assistant GM Kendrick Bourne:

Then finally I'll include this from Hopkins himself (try not to pay attention to the podcast, and just focus on the comment from JJ Watt he chose to Like):

OK, now that is possibly the biggest clue as to the likelihood of a deal getting done. We've all assumed the biggest hurdle to get over is the bad blood between Hopkins and Bill O'Brien. As a matter of fact, it was among the first things every Pats fan said when they hired their new/old coordinator. That it would kill any potential deal for Hopkins. But for him to then proactively bang the Like button is all the signal any of us should need that all is forgiven. That water is under the bridge. Bygones have gone by. 

Taken on the whole, you could do an NFL season's worth of tailgate ribs with the smoke being generated here, so it's hard to imagine there's absolutely no fire. That doesn't mean some other franchise won't enter the chat and leave Belichick left empty-handed. But I agree with the premise that the longer the process drags out, the lower the price gets. The Patriots have 11 picks to deal. Plus one can make the case that they could include Bourne and possibly even DeVante Parker, since Hopkins' skillset would seem to make his redundant. 

Whatever the details, it seems more and more like, to use the NFL's own expression, it's more probable than not that a trade to get DHop to New England will become reality. Since it would be a major shift in the power balance in the AFC East, I'm choosing to believe it.