DeAndre Hopkins refutes contract rumors

QB Deshaun Watson and WR DeAndre Hopkins missed each other just barely during their college careers with the Clemson Tigers. The two made magic during their time together with the Houston Texans despite limited success in the record book. Another chapter between the two was a possibility this offseason.

All offseason, Hopkins and Watson reuniting with the Cleveland Browns has percolated but seemed unlikely. In the middle of January, the Browns had the sixth-best odds of trading for the soon-to-be 31-year-old receiver. Then came a report that Cleveland was not interested in trading for Hopkins.

The Browns then traded for WR Elijah Moore and signed WR Marquise Goodwin which may have closed any slight chance of a trade to reunite the former Clemson stars.

If Hopkins is cut and is willing to sign a reasonable contract, everything is on the table even if Cleveland’s wide receiver room is full. His current contract could be impacting trade talks but, according to the receiver, he isn’t looking for a raise:

Recently, “Nuk” also was willing to give nonverbal answers about where he might want to be traded:

Both the video and the tweet are indications that Hopkins would like to get a deal done and is frustrated that it hasn’t been completed yet. Getting ahead of the narrative about his contract and hinting at which teams he would be interested in could spark more discussions with teams.

For 2023, Hopkins is owed almost $20 million in base salary and currently counts just under $30 million on the Arizona Cardinals salary cap. The receiver would help his cause if he tweeted out “Hopkins is willing to take a pay cut to paly for a contender. -Nuk”

For the Browns, only a free agent Hopkins on a greatly reduced contract would even have a small chance of reuniting him with Watson.