The Arizona Cardinals’ decision to release wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins came as a surprise to most. It was known Hopkins had requested a trade, but now he is on the open market where any team can sign him to a deal. The question now is where he will decide to go, and could the Las Vegas Raiders be a possibility.
Hopkins has long been one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL, and even though he has dealt with injuries over the past couple of seasons, he is still viewed as one of the best. There are sure to be many teams doing their due diligence on potentially bringing him in, and the Raiders seem to be among that group.
According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, the Raiders are among a group of teams that are believed to be in the mix to sign Hopkins:
One league source saw DeAndre Hopkins’ release from the Arizona Cardinals on Friday and texted this to the Daily News:
“Bills.”
But more conversations have expanded the list: various sources believe the Bills, Giants, Jets, Patriots, Chiefs and Raiders are teams who could be in the mix for the three-time All-Pro wide receiver.
Even though the Raiders are already pretty set at wide receiver with Davante Adams leading the way and Jakobi Meyers and Hunter Renfrow both very good players as well, it would be foolish not to at least explore the possibility of bringing in someone like Hopkins who could take this offense to the next level.
Prior to the last two seasons in which he has been limited to 19 games combined, Hopkins had eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in six of the prior seven seasons with at least 76 receptions in all of those seasons as well. He was a First-Team All-Pro from 2017 to 2019 and made Second Team in 2015 and 2020. Simply put, assuming the injury issues are behind him, there is nothing Hopkins can’t do on the field, and he has plenty left in the tank.
Whether he would choose to join the Raiders is another question. While Hopkins has previously mentioned the likes of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes as quarterbacks he would love to play with, he also noted that he doesn’t need a top-tier quarterback to play with, just someone who loves the game as much as him.
Hopkins also mentioned stable management and a great defense as something he wants in his next team, so whether the Raiders fit that bill, we will soon find out.
