DeAndre Hopkins christened his first touchdown as a Kansas City Chief on Monday night with a dance. He didn’t bust just any old move. D-Hop went Hollywood as he mimicked the classic, rhythmic celebration from “Remember the Titans.”
No, Hopkins wasn’t throwing shade at his former team as he strutted on beat and rolled his fists and arms. Just the opposite. The Tennessee Titans, after all, traded the big-time receiver to the NFL’s only undefeated team, which is seeking a third consecutive Super Bowl triumph. It beat being banished to any NFL version of Siberia.
It’s no wonder that Hopkins tips his cap to Titans general manager Ran Carthon.
“It’s nothing but love to Nashville,” Hopkins explained of his dance in a post on X. “Ran and his crew are like family. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
It’s easy to sense the genuine infusion of pep in step. One week Hopkins, 32, was targeted to catch throws from Will Levis. The next week he collected dimes from Patrick Mahomes. And they are just getting started in forming such a lethal combination.
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Hopkins, a 12th-year vet, has a résumé that should someday merit Hall of Fame consideration. No one has more receptions (953) or yards (12,643) than the five-time All-Pro since he came into the NFL as the Texans’ 2013 first-round pick out of Clemson. And for the bulk of his career, I’m thinking that no one in the NFL has been better at snagging contested passes. But for all his skill and accolades, it’s been a minute since he has been in the playoff mix.
Since the Cardinals started 7-0 in 2021, Hopkins’ teams went 15-36 until the trade on Oct. 23. The Titans were 1-5 this year when the deal was struck. Now this.
“It takes your game to a different level…knowing that you’re playing for something,” Hopkins told reporters recently during his introductory news conference at Chiefs headquarters. “I haven’t played meaningful football in a couple years.”
Hopkins is not alone with this vibe, given the flow of the hyperactive NFL trade market that closed on Tuesday. This week, edge rusher Za’Darius Smith was dealt from the Browns (2-7) to the red-hot Lions (7-1), currently positioned as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore was traded to NFC East-leading Washington (7-2), escaping the misery with New Orleans (2-7) that is reflected by an NFL-worst seven-game losing streak and the firing on Monday of coach Dennis Allen.
In mid-October, Amari Cooper was traded from Cleveland to Buffalo (7-2), which is running away in the AFC East race and will utilize him as the new No. 1 target for star quarterback Josh Allen. Last week, receiver Diontae Johnson was shipped from Carolina (2-7) to Baltimore (6-3), where he joins forces with presumed NFL MVP front-runner Lamar Jackson. And with the Vikings (6-2) needing to replace injured left tackle Christian Darrisaw, Cam Robinson was flipped from the Jaguars (2-7).
Such moves, among swaps that involved 19 players since Week 1, with the activity intensifying over the weeks before the trade deadline on Tuesday, represented a reflection of the NFL’s expanded window for making deals. For the first time, the NFL pushed the trade deadline to the Tuesday that followed Week 9 (which in this year’s case happened to land on Election Day), which gave contending teams more opportunity to plug holes that in most cases were caused by injuries as they gear up for the stretch run.
Pushing back the deadline also gave teams that are essentially out of the playoff chase to get a jump on next year by collecting draft capital. Also evident with this year’s market: Key additions were had for relatively bargain prices…while in several cases the teams dealing away the players paid for the draft picks obtained by taking massive dead money salary cap hits.
The Chiefs got Hopkins for a fifth-round pick? Even with the conditional pick having the potential to improve to a fourth-round choice, it looked like some sort of robbery as Hopkins torched the Bucs for eight catches and 86 yards, with two TDs and a sweet 35-yard haul between two defenders. Kansas City was desperate to find a quality target for Mahomes after his receiving corps was decimated by injuries to Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore and JuJu Smith-Schuster. And, well, they did better than quality.
Cooper fetched a third-round pick (with sixth- and seventh-round picks also swapped), while the Ravens gave up a fifth-round pick for Johnson and a sixth-round pick. Lattimore, 28, commanded the highest price. Washington landed the four-time Pro Bowler and a fifth-round pick) for third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks.
And the dead money hits left behind? The NFL Moneyball components were so intriguing to the market mix. According to Spotrac.com, the Saints are taking on a combined charge of more than $45 million in dead money this year and next for unloading Lattimore. The Browns are taking a hit of more than $30 million for Cooper, an amount nearly matched by the Raiders in trading Davante Adams to the Jets for a third-round pick. Robinson will cost the Jags nearly $20 million in dead money, while Hopkins’ tag on the Titans cap tops $22 million. Johnson, by the way, leaves behind a trail of more than $15 million in dead money, including almost $6 million against the Steelers cap leftover from his trade to Carolina in March.
Of course, some teams have a better track record than others in obtaining personnel and managing the cap. In Kansas City’s case, GM Brett Veach’s impact has been phenomenal as injuries threatened to ravage the quest for a threepeat. The Chiefs brought back Kareem Hunt after dynamic running back Isiah Pacheco suffered a leg injury in Week 2 (reportedly a fractured fibula). Smith-Schuster, who also returned to the Chiefs, filled a void caused by the Brown and Rice injuries until suffering his own setback. Veach also dealt to obtain edge rusher Joshua Uche from the Patriots.
And the move on Hopkins might ultimately prove to be the biggest haul – especially if the Chiefs are able to pull off the mission of becoming the NFL’s first three-peat Super Bowl champion. There’s no shortage of motivation.
Hopkins was a key cog on Texans teams that won four AFC South titles, but he has never advanced past the divisional round in the playoffs.
“I think I’ve done a lot, all the accolades that I can accomplish, as far as personal,” Hopkins said. “So, I think just playing meaningful football in January is what’s left on the list.”
The trade may go a long way toward that possibility.