Kansas Metropolis Is Working to Purchase a Star Vast Receiver

by Christina S. Brown
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By Dianna Russini, Nate Taylor and Joe Rexrode

The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs are working to accumulate large receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans, league sources stated Wednesday, a transfer that may bolster the defending Tremendous Bowl champions’ injury-plagued receiving corps with a five-time Professional Bowler.

Tennessee would obtain a conditional draft choose — a fifth-rounder that would grow to be a fourth — within the deal. The commerce had not been finalized as of Wednesday morning.

Whereas the groups iron out particulars of the commerce, the Chiefs anticipate Hopkins to land in Kansas Metropolis later Wednesday and hope to get him able to play Sunday towards the Las Vegas Raiders, league sources stated.

The Chiefs, who purpose to be the primary three-peat champion in NFL historical past, are off to a 6-0 begin and are the league’s final undefeated group. However the vaunted passing assault led by two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes might use the assistance at large receiver. Mahomes is averaging a career-low 231.5 passing yards per recreation and has six touchdowns to eight interceptions. Accidents have sidelined their high three large receivers — Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. In Sunday’s 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas Metropolis’s large receivers mixed for simply 5 receptions on 12 targets.

The Chiefs additionally mentioned star receiver Cooper Kupp with the Los Angeles Rams, group sources stated, however Kansas Metropolis wanted to commerce with a group that was keen to tackle a big chunk of the participant’s wage and didn’t need to quit excessive picks. Tennessee was the group keen to play ball. Hopkins, 32, is within the ultimate season of a two-year, $26 million deal.

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Chiefs must commerce for a large receiver now to assist Patrick Mahomes

Hopkins might strengthen Kansas Metropolis’s large receiving corps and shake off a gradual begin to his season on the similar time. He has simply 15 receptions for 173 yards and one landing in six video games. After struggling a sprained knee within the preseason, Hopkins had his snap rely restricted early within the season. He performed lower than half of the Titans’ offensive snaps of their first 4 video games, however that quantity elevated to 71 p.c and 60 p.c the previous two weeks. Nonetheless, as Tennessee’s offense sputtered, he caught one move for minus-2 yards in Sunday’s 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Payments. The Titans, at 1-5, have only a 1 p.c probability to make the playoffs, in keeping with The Athletic’s Austin Mock.

Hopkins has seven 1,000-yard seasons in his 12-year NFL profession, together with 4 in a row from 2017 to 2020.

What Hopkins brings to the Chiefs

The Chiefs needed to make this transfer, which can create extra margin of error for his or her offense forward of the postseason.

The Chiefs don’t want a celebrity receiver. Mahomes has proved he can win championships with out one. Mahomes does, nonetheless, want one other motivated, viable and dependable receiver to assist him maintain the Chiefs offense. Hopkins may be that receiver based mostly on his route-running potential and success in creating yards after the catch.

With out Hopkins, the Chiefs have been going to enter this week’s recreation towards the Las Vegas Raiders with a bunch of receivers — Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore and rookie Xavier Worthy — who’ve mixed to generate 27 receptions for 343 yards and two touchdowns. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs author

The Titans are acknowledging a rebuild after an offseason of massive spending

Titans common supervisor Ran Carthon operated within the offseason like a man who believed he might put collectively a aggressive group in 2024, signing Calvin Ridley to a long-term deal to pair with Hopkins, buying and selling for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, signing heart Lloyd Cushenberry and working again Tony Pollard to assist the offense and including cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, linebacker Kenneth Murray and linebacker Ernest Jones IV to assist the protection.

Effectively, the Titans have a shot on the No. 1 choose within the 2025 draft, and a selloff has begun.

A lot of this may be defined by the struggles of second-year quarterback Will Levis. However not all of it. The Titans seem aimless and are 7-21 since GM Jon Robinson was fired halfway by the 2022 season. — Joe Rexrode, senior author

Hopkins bucked the Titans’ underwhelming veteran receiver historical past

Randy Moss, Andre Johnson and Julio Jones are three all-time greats at receiver who have been effectively previous their greatest by the point they bought to Nashville, so there was skepticism when the Titans went the place nobody else would go together with Hopkins — two years, $26 million — within the 2023 offseason. However Hopkins bucked historical past with 75 catches for 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns in a foul offense final season. He had robust chemistry instantly with Levis.

A knee damage price Hopkins a lot of camp and the Titans eased him into this season, however it was stunning to see no obvious carryover of that chemistry with Levis as soon as Hopkins was wholesome sufficient to play full video games. — Rexrode

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(Picture: Carmen Mandato / Getty Photographs)

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