Source: Christian Petersen / Getty
It’s not every day a legit #1 wide receiver hits the open market but here is DeAndre Hopkins, a 5-time Pro Bowler, 3-time first-team All-Pro, 2-time second-team All-Pro is free to sign with any of the 32 NFL teams, but here we are. And it appears one of the teams with the weakest wide receiver groups in the league, our Colts, don’t appear to have any interest in signing him.
Hopkins, who just turned 31 years old and was released by the Arizona Cardinals on May 26 is a legit superstar wide receiver has dominated for both the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. His 6-1 and 212-pound frame makes him difficult to cover and his fantastic hands make even poor passes catchable. The Colts are currently heading to training camp in July with their wide receiver group headlined by Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, rookie Josh Downs and the likes of Isiah McKenzie, Ashton Dulin and Breshad Perriman. None of those names will scare opposing defenses and may not even scare the Colts defense in practice.
The Colts need a talent bump. They need to surround their rookie quarterback who they spent the fourth overall pick on with high quality skill position guys to get the most out of him. The group of wide receivers the Colts have currently surrounded Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew for that matter with, don’t do much to elevate either guy’s projections for 2023. A guy like Hopkins, who has the track record, the stats and the name to beef up a group like the Colts and cause some raised eyebrows for opposing defenses should be something the Colts are “all chips in” on. But apparently, they don’t seem interested.
Hopkins has worked out for the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans so far. Not exactly teams that are vying for a Super Bowl next season. Does that mean that maybe the market for Hopkins isn’t what many think it is or is it showing that he’s willing to sign with a team that may not have playoff expectations this season? If it’s the latter then the Colts definitely need to get in on that while they can.
Maybe they can show Hopkins that while they had a horrible season last year they now have what they hope is a franchise quarterback in Richardson and some young pieces in the wide receiver room to grow and mentor as well as Jonathan Taylor in the backfield. The Colts also have quite a bit of cash still laying around after a rather uneventful free agency. The Colts reportedly have over $24-million remaining in cap space and could use some of it to entice Hopkins to take a bigger payday over immediate results.
Losing sucks but it sucks a little less when a massive check clears.
So will the Colts get in on the Hopkins free agency tour? I sure hope so. They could use the boost not only for on-field production but for helping Richardson grow as a QB as well as add another piece to a hopefully soon-to-be on the up roster. It won’t surprise me if the Colts sit out of the Hopkins sweepstakes. It would be typical. But it would be nice to be surprised every now and then.
-Marc Dykton