Receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent, able to sign with any team at any time. Any coach is permitted to comment on Hopkins, at any time.
But they don’t have to.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked on Wednesday about whether his team is interested in Hopkins.
“Yeah, I’m not gonna on players that aren’t on this team,” Belichick told reporters.
And that was that.
There has been some speculation about whether the Patriots would want Hopkins. Former Texans coach Bill O’Brien runs the offense, which given the way things ended for Hopkins in Houston might not be a good thing. Also, Hopkins did not seem to be interested in the Patriots when asked about it earlier this year.
It seems unlikely that the Patriots will pursue Hopkins, or (more importantly) that Hopkins wants to be pursued by the Patriots.