The Tennessee Titans are parting ways with wide-out DeAndre Hopkins after just 1 1/2 seasons.
Tennessee is reportedly sending the 32-year-old receiver to the Kansas City Chiefs before the NFL trade deadline. The Chiefs will send the Titans a fifth-round pick that can be conditionally converted to a fourth-round pick if Hopkins meets certain goals.
Hopkins originally signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Titans as a free agent in 2023. In his first year in Tennessee, he had 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, but his numbers dropped in 2024 (15 catches, 173 yards, one touchdown in six games).
Now Hopkins gets a chance to work with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, while the Titans become the latest NFL team to acquire draft capital for a big-name receiver. The Las Vegas Raiders sent Davante Adams to the New York Jets before Week 7, just hours before the Cleveland Browns traded receiver Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.
Here's what the Titans' decision to trade Hopkins means for the future of the franchise.
Why did the Titans trade DeAndre Hopkins?
Several factors likely played into the Titans' decision to trade Hopkins. First and foremost, the Titans are not a title contender in 2024. They are 1-5 through the first six games of the season, so trading Hopkins - whose contract is expiring - for an asset that can accelerate the team's rebuild seems like a smart move.
Hopkins' expiring contract also plays a big role in this trade. The chances of him re-signing with the Titans aren't great, as he experienced a drop in production in his first season under head coach Brian Callahan. The 32-year-old has just 42 catches for 490 yards, both of which would be career lows, and three touchdowns in a 17-game season.
Had that performance continued, Hopkins might have been looking for a change of scenery in the 2025 offseason. Ahead of his age-33 season, Hopkins would likely want to land at a contender to earn his first Super Bowl ring.
The Titans will also save a little money by getting rid of Hopkins. According to Spotrac.com, they would have owed him around $8 million for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. They may still use up some of that salary to facilitate a deal with the Chiefs, but either way, Tennessee won't pay Hopkins the full amount he's owed. And the dead cap hits associated with him ($10.25 million in 2024 and $5.89 million in 2025) certainly aren't game-changing.
Plus, the Titans had an ideal trade partner in the Chiefs. Kansas City desperately needed help at wide receiver after No. 1 Rashee Rice was out for the season with a torn ACL in Week 4 and No. 2 Hollywood Brown was out for the season with a preseason sternum injury.
However, the Chiefs also had the goal of not giving up a top-100 draft pick when trying to acquire receiver help, as Albert Breer of The MMQB reports. That made Hopkins one of the best receivers for the Chiefs and allowed the Titans to get a fair price while turning an expiring contract into a future asset.
Tennessee won't suffer too much at the receiver position without Hopkins either. The Titans signed Calvin Ridley for big money in the 2024 offseason and also have veteran Tyler Boyd on their roster. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who has proven to be an effective role player in the NFL, will likely move into the lineup to replace Hopkins in three-receiver sets.
This gives the team a wealth of weapons to help them assess whether Will Lewis can be the starting quarterback long-term, which was one of Tennessee's main goals ahead of the 2024 season.
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