The DeAndre Hopkins-Patriots Noise is Getting Louder

Anthony Nesmith. Shutterstock Images.

I'm not predisposed to chase every rumor that gets floated around the internet linking some elite wide receiver to the Patriots. Honestly, there just aren't enough hours in the day to spend my precious time digging into them all. Because every time a wideout becomes available, quasi-available, or even potentially available, every social media sight I'm on blows up with the Belichick Walking GIF:

…and the Logan Airport meme:

And this goes back to long before there were GIFs and memes. Even before Belichick swung the legendary trade for Randy Moss in 2007, any WR who might appear to some people to be unhappy in his current situation was always expected to be appearing at a podium in Foxboro, putting on a Patriots hat. There was a good 10 year stretch there where February and March around New England meant two things: Blizzards and Larry Fitzgerald speculation.

And to give credibility to every single one of them? That way lies madness. Because for every one of them that turns out to actually happen (Josh Gordon, Antonio Brown), there are dozens that never make it beyond the "a caller to sports radio said he's knows someone in the organization who told him" stage (Fitzgerald, Odell Beckham Jr. etc). And therefore are not worth me burning mental calories over. 

Which brings us to the latest example, DeAndre Hopkins. He's been various stages of available all offseason, and as night follows day, New England always gets mentioned as a landing spot:

But Hopkins himself seemed to have shut that talk down a short time later. But still, it persists. And getting noisier. While the sound hasn't been turned up to a Spinal Tap 11, it has been turned up to "Jerry's Mom Watching Oprah" volume. For several reasons.

For one, there's the obvious PDA Belichick has always shown him:

Next, there's the financial reason. The Patriots have just over $13 million in cap space for this year and can always make adjustments to free up more cash. Plus they can always back load a deal because they've got the second most space in 2024 and THE most in 2025. 

Finally, some of the most insidery insiders in NFL media are fueling this talk. Adam Schefter on his podcast. Though in typical Schefty fashion, he equivocated with a lot of "could happen" talk. There's never a time he wasn't willing to take a firm stance on both sides of an issue, and he's not to about to pick one now. But then Dianne Russini dumped a gallon of jet fuel on the flames by mentioning the Pats first out of the gate, while adding the "Bills are not all in" and eliminating the Cowboys from contention altogether:

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But this is the stage of these rumors where you've got to watch you step. The internet sets up traps like the one Indiana Jones had to get through to find the Holy Grail without falling through the floor or getting his head lopped off. I've already read that Hopkins (Note that in the Latin Alphabet, Hopkins begins with an "I") has scheduled his first meeting in Foxboro, but it's from an unreliable source I won't cite here. I'm just making the point there's a lot of talk right now. And some of it might even be true. 

But there remains a big ass elephant in the room that can't be ignored. This one:

Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.

Or more specifically, this one's former offensive coordinator. It's not been missed by anyone that, while Hopkins had his greatest success playing under Bill O'Brien, the two haven't spent the last few years having Ted Lasso watch parties together. Their relationship has been complicated. Like Rebecca and Rupert's. For instance, there's the time O'Brien gave Hopkins away and Michael Irvin described a "power struggle" between them. That included O'Brien believing Hopkins had too much negative influence in the Texans locker room. Plus an unfortunate reference to a convicted murderer:

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So there's that. Then there's the fact that when Hopkins was asked about his relationship with O'Brien, he answered "There is no relationship."

To that end, former podcast guest Phil Perry asked around the league about a possible reunion between the two. And what he heard is not encouraging:

Source - After talking with several league sources this week about a potential union between Hopkins and the Patriots, a handful of themes have emerged. He is not thought to be, I'm told, a "program fit."

Hopkins "doesn't practice," said one offensive assistant. That sentiment was echoed by others who identified the Patriots as a "rigid" working environment where an emphasis on intense preparation is the modus operandi.

"That's not him," the offensive assistant said. "He's never been that guy."

Then there's the on-the-field fit. He's not a field-stretcher, evaluators will tell you. But speed was never his game. Ditto for separation. He's probably not going to be a precise route-runner, which might not be ideal for a timing-and-rhythm-based passing game like the one that's expected to be run by offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and operated by quarterback Mac Jones.

You have to admit, that's pretty damaging. Sure, despite Hopkins lack of field-stretching, speed and separation, he's somehow managed to eke out a living playing wideout in the NFL. Meaning, he's got SIX seasons of over 1,150 yards and two with over 1,500, and 71 touchdowns. And even his two seasons in Arizona, where he only played 19 games total and had just about 1,300 yards combine, would've been good enough to make him the clear WR1 in New England. 

But expecting Belichick and O'Brien to make an exception for a guy who multiple sources around the league insist is not a big Practice Guy is a big ask. A very big ask. Despite his obvious talent and his impressive numbers. It's hard to imagine they'd make allowances for a guy who's great on Sundays, but sort of indifferent to Tuesday through Friday. I'm not claiming they've never given dispensation to a veteran who needs a recovery day. And there have been plenty of stories about a team captain like Devin McCourty or Matthew Slater approaching Belichick to say the guys are exhausted and him easing back on the workload when it's necessary. But investing tens of millions in a player who's going to turn 31 this week while giving him special privileges the rest of the roster doesn't is the opposite of what people outside the building (never inside) call The Patriots Way. 

That doesn't mean it won't happen. Again, there's too much talk here for this to be a total nonstarter. But it's going to take a ton of compromise on all sides. Egos will have to be put aside. Hatchets will have to be buried. Swords beaten into plowshares. Bygones made by gone. And if Belichick can somehow pull this off, reconcile things between Hopkins and O'Brien, find the money in the budget, get everyone to buy into the program, add a three time All Pro to his roster, all while admittedly not exactly being THE go-to place for veterans trying to find a fresh start to their careers any more? It'll be one of the great coups in a career full of them. And completely change the balance of power in the nuclear arms race that is the AFC East. 

Gird your loins. This might actually be happening.