Two weeks ago, free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins visited the Titans and the Patriots. He’s now biding his time, seemingly waiting for more teams to emerge, presumably with better offers. If there are any new teams, and if there are any better offers.
One that reportedly won’t be emerging is the Browns.
Albert Breer of SI.com recently noted that the Browns are comfortable with their current crop of receivers (including newcomer Elijah Moore), and that they “probably won’t’” pursue Hopkins. It’s a significant bit of news, because quarterback Deshaun Watson has played with Hopkins — and has expressed a desire to reunite with Hopkins.
It’s possible Watson was simply saying what he needed to say publicly, and that he hasn’t privately pushed for Hopkins to be signed. But if Watson has expressed a preference to the team to make a run at Hopkins and if the team has politely declined to do so, that would be the first tangible sign of friction between the Browns and the player to who they gave a five-year, fully-guaranteed contract amid twenty-plus civil lawsuits and a looming suspension.
Watson, now entering Year Two of the deal because he wasn’t required to miss all of last season, needs to begin to give the Browns a major return on their massive investment. If he thinks Hopkins would help accomplish that and if the Browns aren’t interested in giving it a whirl, that could indeed become a sticking point if/when things don’t go as planned for the Browns in 2023.
