DeAndre Hopkins to Visit New England Patriots

Free agent wide receiver is expected to visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The following week, he's scheduled to visit the New England Patriots according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. To this point, there's nothing on the radar with the Cleveland Browns.

There's no rush for Hopkins to get a deal done since he's not going to attend a team's minicamp. His focus is on training camp, so he's got several weeks to take a tour of NFL teams in search of the best fit.

With the Titans, he has familiarity with Mike Vrabel, who was a coach with the Houston Texans when he was there. With the Patriots, his former head coach Bill O'Brien is the team's offensive coordinator, though that work against his chances of signing with the Patriots.

O'Brien traded Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2020 season. If Hopkins still holds ill will towards O'Brien, that could be a problem. However, the Patriots have a spot for Hopkins to be a featured wide receiver in their offense and provide a quality receiver for quarterback Mac Jones.

The Patriots added Juju Smith-Schuster earlier in the offseason but could stand to add another weapon that can win on the outside. Hopkins is someone that can extend drives and win in the red zone and allow players like DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne to be in perhaps better roles in the offense.

The Patriots also have cap space. $14,299,960, which could be enough to secure Hopkins without moving any money around. That could also help to salve any wounds between Hopkins and O'Brien.

The Patriots don't want to be mediocre this year, but they need more help in order to compete with the rest of the AFC East. Hopkins may not be enough but he's their best chance to add offensive firepower.

The Browns have wrapped up minicamp and are set to go on summer break. They seem to be happy with their current wide receivers, but general manager Andrew Berry is someone who likes to look into every opportunity. Whether that results in a free agent visit with Hopkins remains to be seen. If it doesn't, that may be the clearest indicator they are satisfied with the group they have.