DeAndre Hopkins still doesn’t have a new home, and could be trying to stir up interest in his services. The star wide receiver sent this tweet on Tuesday, which had some speculating that he’s looking to jump start his market with NFL OTAs in the rear view and training camp around the corner.
The Bears would certainly benefit by adding Hopkins to their wide receivers room. Any NFL team would. Accordingly, there’s a good chance Bears GM Ryan Poles reached out to Hopkins’ camp to see what it would take to convince him to come to Chicago. It’s unlikely that the Bears end up landing Hopkins, however.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
When Hopkins was officially released by the Cardinals, the wide receiver went on the “I Am Athlete'' podcast to share what he’s looking for in his next team. That is a quarterback who loves the game and brings his teammates along with him, a great defense, and a stable management situation. On the surface, the Bears appear to check two of those boxes with Justin Fields, and Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus securely in place for the near future. No one is ready to declare the Bears have a great defense, even with free agent signings like Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards.
Fields may not have shown enough in his development as a passer to impress Fields, though. On the same podcast, Hopkins listed the top five QBs he’d like to play with and Fields didn’t crack the list. Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert earned that honor.
The Bears can offer one thing more easily than other teams: money. According to OverTheCap, the Bears still lead the NFL with $32 million in cap space, so they’d be able to offer Hopkins a lucrative one-year deal without any salary cap finagling. That would also allow Hopkins to hit the market and cash in again next year if he has a great season in Chicago.
What the Bears can’t offer is a legit shot to win a Super Bowl this year. At 30 years old, Hopkins still has good football years ahead of him, but he’s entering the backhalf of his career. If he wants to maximize his opportunities to win a ring, joining the Chiefs, Bills or Eagles makes a lot more sense.
NFL
Further, if Hopkins does sign a one-year deal this season, it’s in his best interest to team up with a proven top-tier passer like Mahomes, Allen or Hurts. Fields certainly has exciting upside as an explosive playmaker, and he throws a great deep ball that could set Hopkins up to make highlight reel catches. Fields does not have the track record of the other, more-established QBs.
Taking a look at the full picture of who could be in the running for Hopkins, and what Hopkins is looking for on the open market, it seems unlikely we’ll see him at Halas Hall this year.