Doug Pederson: Signing DeAndre Hopkins is 'Not a Reality' For Jaguars
As expected, the Jacksonville Jaguars will not be pursuing free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The Jaguars have been linked to Hopkins on-and-off since January, but head coach Doug Pederson put it bluntly when asked about Hopkins on Monday: it just isn't a realistic move.
"I mean it's hard to speak on guys, obviously, cause we got a really good room right now and it's hard to add someone of his caliber, his talent to a room that's already talented," Pederson said.
"We consider everything, but at this time it's not a reality for us to bring someone like that in."
Hopkins has slowed down in terms of production the last two seasons, appearing in just 19 games and recording 106 catches for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns. This included 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns, with Hopkins tying a career-low in yards per reception with 11.2.
The Jaguars are currently fourth in spending at wide receiver with $41,963,527. The Jaguars already have big investments in Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, while Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram will also be pushing for bigger deals moving forward.
In January, Dave Burns and John Gambarado of the ‘Burns & Gambo Show’ noted that the Los Angeles Chargers and Jaguars could be primary contenders for the wideout’s services if it was up to him.
“Yeah, I’ve been told several times over the course of the last five or six weeks that it’s very possible that he’s gonna ask out, that he’s not happy, that he’s going to want to go somewhere else,” Gambarado said.
“I’ve even heard today from people very close to the situation that, you know, that the preferences for him would be the Jaguars and the Chargers. The Jags because he could be, you know, with Lawrence (QB Trevor Lawrence) and Pederson (Head Coach Doug Pederson). Could be his best shot at a title to go with one of those teams. You know, the problem is that each guy has a highly-paid wide receiver. The Jags have Kirk (WR Christian Kirk), then the Chargers with Mike Williams (WR Mike Williams). Maybe they get off of (WR) Keenan Allen. It’s just a preference I’ve heard from people close to Hopkins that that’s two teams he would like to go to, but we gotta see how it plays out.
