Proposed Trade Beefs Up Browns Passing Game With $26 Million WR
Getty Images Kevin Stefanski and the Browns need more weapons in the game.
The Cleveland Browns decided not to sign DeAndre Hopkins in free agency, but he could be a target for the team at the trade deadline.
After being released by the Arizona Cardinals, Hopkins spent time considering his free agent options.
He eventually decided to sign with the Tennessee Titans, who offered him a two-year contract worth $26 million.
That didn’t bode well for Hopkins or the Titans, who are 2-4 in the bottom of the AFC South.
The Titans had just 104 points this season, the third fewest total in the AFC.
Hopkins leads the team with 27 catches for 376 yards, but has yet to find the end zone.
Meanwhile, the Titans QB situation is fluid with Ryan Tannehill out with an ankle injury.
None of this bodes well for Hopkins, who could go to a wide receiver-needy team like the Browns at the trade deadline. Hopkins was suggested by Zach Jackson of The Athletic as a possible trade option for the Browns.
“It’s hard to see the Browns adding a wide receiver because they invested in the position this offseason. But Watson publicly campaigned for Cleveland to add Hopkins in the spring before he signed with the Titans,” Jackson wrote on Oct. 27.
“Tennessee looks to be a trade deadline seller right now.”
The Titans have already traded away two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard.
Hopkins could be next.
“If my number is called, I do my job,” Hopkins said when asked about the trade rumors.
“I’m a Tennessee Titan too.”
DeAndre Hopkins could work well with Deshaun Watson.
Trading Hopkins would be a sweeping move for the Browns, who face a potentially tough situation next season.
However, he fits well alongside Deshaun Watson, who joined the Houston Texans from 2017 to 2019.
While in Houston, Hopkins caught 256 passes for 3,119 yards and 23 touchdowns from Watson. As Jackson noted, Watson made a public statement to Hopkins during his free agency tour.
“D-Hope and I talk naturally.
“We’ve been talking since I’ve been in Houston and we’ve always talked whenever he’s in Arizona,” Watson said in May.
“He’s always been a big brother to me since I graduated high school.
Our connection, our relationship has always been great.
I know there are a lot of media reports about him possibly coming to Cleveland.
Here’s my answer to that: Of course we want to have it.
The Browns did not invite Hopkins to visit.
Brown’s passing game is struggling.
The Browns offense has been lacking this season, especially through the air.
Much of that is due to the quarterback situation, with Watson missing significant time with a shoulder injury.
Cleveland averaged 171.7, the second-worst in the league.
Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore combined for 49 catches, but the Browns aren’t getting much from the rest of the roster.
Donovan Peoples-Jones is the team’s third leading receiver with just eight catches for 97 yards.
Hopkins may not be the All-Pro playmaker he once was.
But if Watson is healthy, their chemistry could ignite a game that has been largely dormant.
