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Why Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins to Chiefs, explained

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4 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Why Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins to Chiefs, explained

The Tennessee Titans are shifting on from veteran wide-out DeAndre Hopkins after simply 1 1/2 seasons with the workforce.

Tennessee is reportedly sending the 32-year-old receiver to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs forward of the NFL’s commerce deadline. The Chiefs will ship the Titans a 2025 fifth-round decide that may conditionally change into a fourth-rounder if Hopkins performs 60 p.c of the workforce’s snaps and the Chiefs make the Tremendous Bowl.

The Titans will even eat $2.5 million of Hopkins’ remaining wage, per NFL Community’s Ian Rapoport.

Hopkins initially signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Titans as a free agent in 2023. He racked up 75 catches for 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns throughout his first 12 months in Tennessee, however has seen his numbers tail off in 2024 (15 catches, 173 yards, one landing in six video games).

Now, Hopkins will get an opportunity to work with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs whereas the Titans change into the most recent NFL workforce to accumulate draft capital for a big-name receiver. The Las Vegas Raiders despatched Davante Adams to the New York Jets forward of Week 7 simply hours earlier than the Cleveland Browns traded receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Payments.

This is what to know in regards to the Titans’ resolution to commerce Hopkins and what it means for his or her franchise’s future.

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Why did the Titans commerce DeAndre Hopkins?

Just a few components possible performed into the Titans’ resolution to commerce Hopkins. At the start, the Titans usually are not a contender in 2024. They’ve posted a 1-5 document by means of six video games to open the season, so buying and selling Hopkins – who’s on an expiring contract – for an asset that may speed up the workforce’s rebuild looks like a sensible transfer.

Hopkins’ expiring deal additionally performs an enormous position within the commerce. The chances of him re-signing with the Titans do not look significantly nice, as he has seen a downturn in manufacturing in his first season working with head coach Brian Callahan. The 32-year-old is on tempo for simply 42 catches and 490 yards, which might each mark career-lows, and three touchdowns over a 17-game season.

If that output had continued, Hopkins could have seemed for a change of surroundings in the course of the 2025 offseason. Forward of his age-33 season, Hopkins would possible need to find yourself with a contender to chase his first Tremendous Bowl ring.

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The Titans will even save a bit of cash by offloading Hopkins. They’d have owed him roughly $8 million for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season, per Spotrac.com. They ended up consuming $2.5 million of that remaining wage, however nonetheless, Tennessee will not be paying Hopkins the complete allotment of what he is owed. And the dead-cap hits related to him ($12.75 million in 2024 and $5.89 million in 2025) actually aren’t back-breaking.

The Titans additionally had a really perfect commerce companion within the Chiefs. Kansas Metropolis badly wanted some broad receiver assist after shedding No. 1 goal Rashee Rice for the season in Week 4 to a torn ACL and No. 2 receiver Hollywood Brown to a sternoclavicular damage within the preseason.

Nonetheless, the Chiefs additionally had a objective to not give up a top-100 draft decide as they tried to accumulate receiver assist, per The MMQB’s Albert Breer. That made Hopkins one of many Chiefs’ most closely fits and allowed the Titans to get a good value whereas turning an expiring contract right into a future asset.