The long swirling deal, at last, hit its bank. Among the most talked about free agents only a few were left to find their next destination and the former Arizona Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins was one of the gang. Finally, he looks ready to on a new voyage with one of the two teams to which he paid a trade visit.
The deal is rather huge with the incentive to earn even more. However, Hopkins’ move seems to have saddened a section of the NFL fans. Following the trade, some fans also made news headlines by criticizing the transaction.
DeAndre Hopkins signs two-year, $26 million contract with the Titans
The Cardinals cut ties with their veteran wide receiver at the end of May in a salary cap move. They made it after three seasons of adding the receiver to their roster following his initial signing in a blockbuster trade with the Texans.
Since his exit, he has been the subject of intense speculation. Instead of rushing behind one of the teams to quickly make it to a roster, DeAndre looked to be on the patient journey to explore the market.
The three-time All-Pro appeared to be of interest to some teams, including the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots. Even though, he was only invited to make a trade visit with the Patriots and Titans in the end.
As the Titans placed a comparatively more lucrative offer to the five-time Pro Bowler, reportedly he is going to sign with the team to bolster their offense. According to the report of NFL.com, the Titans are going to sign the former Cardinals player on a two-year contract worth $26 million which will potentially rise to $32 million with added incentives.
The WR now can earn around $15 million in 2023 and $17 million in 2024 if he manages to bag all of the incentives and rewards.
NFL fans not happy with ex-Cardinals WR Hopkins’ Titans deal
Despite not having a fantastic statistical year with the Cardinals, Hopkins is projected to join a better club than the Titans, who had a long losing streak in the previous campaign. The Titans, though, were in need of a seasoned wide receiver, and they seem to have it now.
“While he is no longer at the peak of his game, based on DeAndre Hopkins’ 2022 #ReceptionPerception results, he can still get open and be a top target-earner on a good offense. The Titans badly needed a player like that. Didn’t have one,” one fan tweeted.
While he is no longer at the peak of his game, based on DeAndre Hopkins' 2022 #ReceptionPerception results, he can still get open and be a top target-earner on a good offense. The Titans badly needed a player like that. Didn't have one.
Full profile: https://t.co/CCvyUibRdJ pic.twitter.com/AtOuIOdwhO
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) July 16, 2023
Some NFL fans were completely unprepared for this deal, and many thought it was a stupid move. One of them described him as a money chaser,
“Fraud. Money chaser”
Fraud. Money chaser
— Jozef Neu (@MrNeu_) July 17, 2023
Although he himself seems to have had no desire in joining the New England team, many of the receivers’ supporters apparently want him to play for the Patriots. So, when one netizen heard about the agreement, they simply said, “Titans suck!!!” “Go Pats!”
Another supporter expressed his disappointment by explaining why he is not signing with the Chiefs or the Bills, where he might at least anticipate a playoff appearance,
“have fun. You could have had a playoff run with the chiefs or Bills.”
😂, have fun. You could have had a playoff run with the chiefs or Bills
— todd raiber (@toddraiber) July 17, 2023
Already, the receiver stated that he enjoys critique in his response to the fans’ criticism. Let’s see how he can defend his deal while trying to lead the Titans to the playoffs and accumulating favorable stats for himself.
