Ravens may have ruined Chiefs chances to land DeAndre Hopkins

Report: Ravens blew up DeAndre Hopkins, Chiefs trade

The report

Throughout the offseason, Hopkins and Beckham Jr. were two of the biggest names on the wide receiver market. After tearing his ACL in Super Bowl LVI, Beckham missed the entirety of the 2022 season and was looking for a contract that accurately reflected his talents. Hopkins, meanwhile, was under contract with the Cardinals and had no interest in being part of a rebuild.

According to Breer, the Chiefs came very close to trading for Hopkins, but the deal fell through when the Ravens signed Beckham Jr. to a one-year, $18M contract with $15M guaranteed. Quite simply, this is a lot of money for an over-30 receiver that hasn’t played in over a year, especially when the next-highest free agent wide receiver, Jakobi Meyers, only received a three-year, $33M contract.

Chances are, Hopkins believed he is more valuable to the Chiefs than Beckham Jr. is to the Ravens, and thus deserved a raise. In fairness to Hopkins, he’s probably right. After all, the wide receiver actually played in 2022 and finished the year with 64 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns in just nine games. The Chiefs clearly didn’t agree, and now Hopkins is available on the open market.

Ravens could ruin Chiefs, Hopkins match in free agency

Prior to his release, Hopkins appeared on the "I Am Athlete" podcast and discussed what he’s looking for in a new team. While he spoke about a stable organization, a quarterback that loves the game, and a strong defense, there is clearly a fourth thing he’s looking for—a massive payday.

Needless to say, nobody should blame Hopkins for trying to get as much money as he possibly can. NFL players have a very small window of earning potential, and every single professional athlete should try to maximize their profits while playing an incredibly violent sport that could end their career at a moment’s notice.

Based purely on a team needs standpoint, the Chiefs make perfect sense. The team is clearly in the midst of their Super Bowl window, and they have a glaring need at wide receiver. However, they only have $652,557 in available cap space. Multiple teams are going to be interested in Hopkins, and if this turns into a bidding war, it’s hard to see how the Chiefs can match other top offers.

The New Orleans Saints, for instance, have over $14M in cap space and a clear path to the playoffs thanks to a laughably weak NFC South. While Derek Carr isn’t nearly as good as Patrick Mahomes, New Orleans has the financial freedom to hand out more guaranteed money than Kansas City possibly could.

There is a very real chance that the Beckham signing will keep Hopkins out of Kansas City for good. Even if Beckham is never able to recapture his old form, that’s money well spent for a team that needs to go through Kansas City to win the Super Bowl.