DeAndre Hopkins Starts Free Agency Tour

Free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is starting his free agency tour Sunday with a stop in Nashville to visit the Tennessee Titans. One of the two visits he has scheduled so far, either would be a welcome place for him to sign in the event the Cleveland Browns aren't interested.

The Titans have as bad as a group of wide receivers as the league has to offer currently. They have Treylon Burks, who has a chance to be a good receiver, but little else at this point. Along with tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, those are the two pass catchers the Titans would like to be able to count on for the future after trading A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hopkins would allow both of them to play in smaller roles in their second year, which could be valuable. In 2021, Donovan Peoples-Jones was forced into being the top receiver for a few games for the Browns and clearly wasn't ready for it. The experience might have been valuable for him, but was a major challenge for the offense.

The Titans still have Ryan Tannehill as their quarterback and a proven receiver would be a welcome sight. They still have Derrick Henry, who will still be counted on to drive the offense, but the more receiving help they can get, the easier it should be for Henry to operate.

If the Browns don't want Hopkins, the Titans aren't likely to be a factor in the playoff race, so while Hopkins won't help them, he can't hurt them too much either. The one caveat to that is the Browns will face the Titans at home week three so they would have to face him.

The other visit Hopkins has scheduled is with the New England Patriots later in the week. As it currently stands, the Patriots look like the worst team in the AFC East. Bill Belichick might be able to make up some of the gap and Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator as opposed to Matt Patricia should also help.

The Patriots added Juju Smith-Schuster in the offseason to go along with Hunter Henry. Hopkins could provide another big bodied receiver that can extend drives and win in the red zone. That could enable receivers like Davante Adams, Kendrick Bourne and others to be put in the best possible situation to succeed.

The hitch with Hopkins signing with the Patriots could be O'Brien. Even taking the visit is notable since O'Brien traded Hopkins from the Houston Texans to the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2020 season.

However, Hopkins might need the Patriots to make a serious offer to give him some leverage with other teams as well as provide him a legitimate landing spot. The Patriots need more help on offensive to close the gap with three divisional opponents who aren't just considered potential playoff teams, but contenders.

Giving Hopkins theoretical leverage also helps the Patriots. The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills have been linked to Hopkins and the Patriots wouldn't hate it if meeting with him potentially puts one or both out of the race for him. The Bills recently signed pass rusher Leonard Floyd and general manager Brandon Beane has said any other help would have to come cheap. The Dolphins have more cap space, but might not want to use it all on Hopkins.

The Patriots could be an ideal landing spot for Hopkins if the Browns aren't interested. It would be foolish to write them off, but Hopkins might not provide enough of a boost to ensure they get to the postseason. In that scenario, he's off the board entirely from the Browns point of view.

The Browns are on their summer break, which might impact when they would have Hopkins in for a visit if they intend to have one at all. At this point, they might sit back and wait for Hopkins to complete all his visits. He'll either sign for a price they don't plan on paying or he gets through it and his price could come down enough where the Browns consider it. The odds of Hopkins coming to Cleveland are slim, but not yet out of the question.