Early in WR DeAndre Hopkins’ career, he was not blessed with outstanding quarterback play. Despite that, he ascended to prominence across the 2014 and 2015 seasons, racking up big numbers and a Pro Bowl bid while catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, T.J. Yates and more. But the 2016 season was a slog, and Hopkins struggled mightily with 14 games of Brock Osweiler and two games of Tom Savage under center. 

In retrospect, that year left scars that have stayed with Hopkins for his entire career. He has been careful to prioritize landing with a quarterback he feels confident can get him the football. Since 2016, Hopkins’ starting quarterbacks have been:

• Deshaun Watson
• Kyler Murray
• Ryan Tannehill
• Will Levis
• Patrick Mahomes (Hopkins was traded to the Chiefs midseason after starting 2024 with Levis and the Titans)
• Lamar Jackson

So it should be no surprise that so far this offseason, Hopkins has expressed interest in reuniting with Murray with the Vikings or joining the Bengals and QB Joe Burrow. If he is back for a 14th season in 2026, expect Hopkins to pair up with an established quarterback. 

It’ll be interesting to see if there’s mutual interest from other teams. Hopkins’ numbers have fallen off precipitously over the past few years. He topped 1,000 yards in his first year in Tennessee in 2023. The following season, he was down to 173 yards in six games before the Titans traded him to the Chiefs. Hopkins had 437 yards in 10 games with the Chiefs but he was not an efficient target. In 2026, he had 22 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens. 

However, there was a sense that Hopkins could have potentially done more had the Ravens needed him to. He was down to a career-low 33 percent of the snaps, but did come up big in a couple of crucial moments. He was never a burner but Hopkins’ fly-paper hands remain an asset. 

As a No. 3 or a No. 4 receiver, it’s possible he could still make some meaningful contributions as a possession receiver on a playoff squad. However, he does not play special teams and that becomes a big consideration once you start inhabiting that area of the depth chart. Hopkins has done better than some at understanding where he is at this point in his career compared to his prime, but that will be another question teams want to answer before bringing him in. 

Hopkins, 33, is a former first-round pick of the Texans back in 2013 out of Clemson. Houston later traded Hopkins to the Cardinals ahead of the 2020 season in return for RB David Johnson and draft picks. 

Hopkins was in the third year of his five-year, $81 million extension that included $49 million guaranteed when he agreed to a two-year, $54.5 million extension with the Cardinals. 

He was owed base salaries of $19,450,000 and $14,915,000 over the final two years of the agreement when the Cardinals opted to release him. Hopkins eventually signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Titans.

Tennessee ended up trading him to the Chiefs in October of the 2024 season. After playing out the rest of his deal, Hopkins signed a one-year deal with the Ravens. 

In 2025, Hopkins appeared in all 17 games for the Ravens and caught 22 passes on 39 targets for 330 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list. 

Washington Commanders

Your guess would probably be as good as mine on who the No. 2 receiver for the Commanders will be this upcoming season. There’s no shortage of contenders, including third-rounder Antonio Williams, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane and even Van Jefferson. Like in most fields, the abundance of options is usually inversely related to the quality. Put another way, if you have six No. 2 receivers, you really have none. 

Hopkins probably isn’t an answer as a No. 2 option either, but he’d bring a little bit of stability to the room as its currently constructed. He’d instantly have the best hands of anyone listed if signed, maybe even better than top WR Terry McLaurin, too. That could have some value even if he can’t stretch the field. 

Washington assistants David Raih and Wes Welker have both overlapped with Hopkins at previous coaching staff, so the Commanders have some familiarity to lean on when evaluating how well the veteran receiver might fit in. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels would pretty emphatically check the quarterback quality box that Hopkins is looking for, too. 

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings’ glaring need for a receiver was addressed when they signed veteran Jauan Jennings to a decent contract to come in as the No. 3 option behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jennings’ ability as a blocker and a tough possession receiver will make him a good fit in the room. Despite Hopkins’ lobbying to rejoin Murray in Minnesota, the Vikings elected to go with Jennings, who has a fair amount of skill overlap with Hopkins. Signing both might be redundant. 

Still, Minnesota doesn’t exactly have the deepest receiving corps in the league at this point. So far in OTAs, rookie free agent Dillon Bell has been getting legitimate burn with the second string, showing he’s a viable competitor for the No. 4 role. On the one hand, that’s a promising early sign for an UDFA. However, it’s also telling that Bell has ascended to the top of a pack that includes 2025 third-rounder Tai Felton and Myles Price so quickly. 

One of those three would be pushed into a quasi-starting role in the event of an injury to one of Minnesota’s top three receivers, so that makes depth at the position a question mark still. That could still lead the Vikings back to Hopkins at some point depending on what happens in training camp. The good news for both sides is that there’s not a big rush to get something done. 

Cincinnati Bengals

The appeal for Hopkins in catching passes from Burrow is obvious. From Cincinnati’s perspective, they have to figure out how they feel about the ancillary pieces on offense. Obviously the two pillars are Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. After that, RB Chase Brown soaks up some footballs, as do TE Mike Gesicki and WR Andrei Iosivas. The final receiver spots will come down to fourth-rounder Colbie Young, Mitchell Tinsley, Charlie Jones and a handful of other former UDFAs. 

Iosivas’ raw numbers aren’t drastically different from Hopkins’ but he’s far more athletic at this stage and probably would win a competition rather easily. The question the Bengals would need to ask is whether the insurance of having a known quantity as the No. 4 receiver (and No. 5 or No. 6 option in the passing game) outweighs the value of reps for young, developing players like Young and Tinsley. Given how all-in on winning a Super Bowl Cincinnati is this year, it does make some sense to pursue Hopkins. 

Detroit Lions

After losing fifth-round WR Kendrick Law to a torn ACL in OTAs, the Lions responded by signing four receivers to the roster in the month of June. That is the action of a team that’s concerned about its depth at receiver. The top of the depth chart is locked in with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and the Lions paid a premium to get Isaac TeSlaa who will be expected to seize the No. 3 role. 

After that, it’s pretty wide open though. NFL journeymen Greg Dortch and Cedrick Wilson will be competing against a battery of former UDFAs for the final spots on the depth chart. Hopkins is a potential upgrade over that duo and Lions QB Jared Goff is the type of proven passer he’s shown he wants to play for.