The prospect of free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins visiting Foxboro later this week – for not one, but two days – has Patriots fans understandably excited about the possibility of adding the five-time Pro Bowler.
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Former Patriot Rob Ninkovich likes the idea, too, but only if the price is right. Appearing on The Greg Hill Show Tuesday morning (listen to the full interview below), Ninkovich said he thinks New England would be “a great spot” for Hopkins. But when host Greg Hill suggested that the Patriots pony up and pay Hopkins whatever it takes to sign him, Ninkovich balked.
“I don’t know about that one,” he said. “That’s the tough part. The contract that OBJ [Odell Beckham Jr.] signed, the Ravens way overpaid for him. I know that D-Hop is a free agent and he’s trying to get the last bite, the biggest contract he can. I don’t know if you do that. If you’re the Patriots, I don’t think you throw him the most money.”
“Why not?,” asked Chris Curtis.
“$15 million?”
“I think Robert [Kraft] is doing OK, Rob.”
“Yeah I know, Robert’s doing all right,” Ninkovich responded. “But I’m just thinking as far as, you have other guys there saying, ‘OK, where’s he been the last two years?’ He only played in nine games last year. The performance still has to be there. We’re thinking back to like Texans D-Hop. Arizona D-Hop, yeah he was great, but he wasn’t there. He missed a lot of games.”
It’s true that Hopkins has missed 15 games over the last two seasons, six of them because of a suspension for violating the NFL’s PED policy. He also missed time with a hamstring injury and then a torn MCL in 2021.
But in nine games after returning from suspension this past season, he did produce, racking up 64 catches for 717 yards. Over a full 17-game season, that would project to 121 catches for 1,355 yards.
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