NASHVILLE - Carl Pickens, Eric Moulds, Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, and Julio Jones were all once outstanding- or Hall of Fame worthy wide receivers who came to Nashville to join the Tennessee Titans late in their proud careers, when they were past their primes, and their ability to play the game at an elite level had wained.
Many people revived that narrative when the Titans pursued another talented receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. They invoked the memory of those former Titans who went out with a whimper rather than a bang, some insisting that would be Hopkins fate, too, should he decide to sign with this franchise.
Conventional wisdom, however, suggests that Hopkins is not at the end of his road and has gas left in his tank while on the downside of his storied career.
Regardless of that history with those names listed above and how their Titans tenures turned out for the worst, that has no impact on how Hopkins time in town will turn out.
As an example of a once great player who came to Nashville and continued flourishing, I give you DeMarco Murray. Yes, I know, he's not a wide receiver, but he defied the odds and survived joining a team with so many failed ventures with great players.
In his first season with the Titans, Murray ran for 1,287 yards and nine scores in 16 games and 53 receptions for 377 yards and three more touchdowns.
He followed that up one season later with 659 yards, three touchdowns, 39 receptions, 266 yards, and one touchdown.
Murray's career did end in Tennessee, but not before he had one last season in the sun and another thousand-yard campaign before father time and the game's impact caught up to him.
I'm no fortune teller and can't predict the future accurately. Hopkins's career could follow those other great receivers, or it could follow the path of Murray. He could produce one great and one average season in the winddown to his retirement, or he could chart his way and have two- or more outstanding campaigns before the end finally comes.
It's up to Hopkins and father time as to how this will ultimately end, but none of what happened with other greats who joined the Titans late in their NFL life will impact his time in Nashville, regardless of what some might want to suggest.
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