Whether DeAndre Hopkins comes to the New England Patriots or not could ultimately come down to one man: Bill Belichick.
A recent report from SI.com’s Albert Breer put the ball in the coach’s court when it came to agreeing on a deal with the five-time All-Pro receiver.
“I think everything went relatively well. What I’ve continued to hear from different people down there is that this is really gonna come down to Bill,” said Breer, when appearing on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich. “And it’s sort of self-explanatory with everything here over the last 23 years. But I think one thing that came across is it’s going to have to be on Bill’s terms. And I think the fact that Bill and Hopkins spent one-on-one time (Thursday) at the end of the visit, tells me that those terms have been discussed.
“And are Bill’s terms now getting closer to what Hopkins’ terms for going to a team would be? That to me is the question because I still think money is a factor. If money was less of a factor, I think he’d be a Buffalo Bill or a Kansas City Chief now.”
Along with visiting the Patriots, Hopkins also visited with the Tennessee Titans this week.
The Tennessee visit went well, reportedly, and the team should be considered a threat to sign the star receiver. However, the Titans are also among the worst teams in the league with $7.7 million left in cap space. In fact, the Patriots have nearly double the amount of money to spend with $14 million in cap room.
So New England should be able to win hands down if it came to a bidding battle with the Titans. The biggest concern would be another team getting into the mix, which is the strategy Hopkins appears to be taking by prolonging his decision.
A training camp injury or a player underperforming could push another team into the mix. But then again, Belichick might also be playing the same waiting game. He might be confident that the Patriots have the best offer on the table right now.
Both sides walked away feeling good about the meeting. If nothing crazy happens between now and training camp, it would make sense that Hopkins reconsiders signing with the Patriots.
