DeAndre Hopkins is headed back to the AFC South.
The Tennessee Titans are expected to sign the three-time All-Pro wide receiver to a two-year, $26 million contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday, per sources. The deal has a base value of $12 million for Year 1 with a chance to get up to $15 million, and in total the contract can be worth up to $32 million with incentives, per Rapoport.
Following his release from the Cardinals at the end of May, Hopkins chose Tennessee as the spot of his first free-agent visit, a meeting that occurred on June 11. Despite later meeting with the Patriots and then waiting out the market for a month, the Titans eventually proved too good an opportunity.
The Hopkins signing is new general manager Ran Carthon's first major get of his tenure in Tennessee, and it goes a long way in filling the void felt last season after the club traded A.J. Brown during the 2022 NFL Draft.
Although Hopkins has missed 15 contests the past two seasons due to a six-game suspension and various injuries, he remains a difference maker at 31 years of age. In the 19 games he did play over that span, he collected 106 catches for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns, consistently creating separation and making acrobatic contested catches when space didn't exist.
Across his 10-year career, he has 853 receptions for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns, plus five Pro Bowls. All but one of those Pro Bowl campaigns came with the Texans, the team he will now face twice a year as a rival.
He immediately becomes Tennessee's most dangerous wideout upon signing. His presence should also help expedite the development of Treylon Burks, whom the Titans drafted to replace Brown in the first round last year.
Burks struggled for parts of his rookie season, dealing with limitations from asthma throughout the offseason program and struggling to shine in an oft-stagnant Tennessee offense. He finished the year with 33 receptions for 444 yards and one touchdown in 11 games.
With Hopkins in the fold, those two will form the main focal point of the club's passing offense.
Who leads that attack under center remains to be seen. Ryan Tannehill is the incumbent starter, but he appears to be a lame-duck quarterback heading into his age-35 season with no guaranteed money left on his contract. Last year's third-round pick, Malik Willis, and Will Levis, this year's No. 33 overall selection, will also by vying for the spot.
Hopkins should elevate whoever rises to the top, and his arrival also bolsters the Titans' chances of wresting back the AFC South from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
