Former All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent and a wanted man.
Following his surprise release by the Arizona Cardinals last week, the talented wideout is now being courted by a host of NFL teams. While D-Hop is expected to take his time with his decision, his ultimate goal is to join a team that he could win a Super Bowl with and also reset his market value for 2024.
The former Clemson Tigers star even gave a list of teams and quarterbacks he would like to play for, and while the Browns and Watson weren’t on the list, they have an advantage. Hopkins and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson are good friends and former teammates from their time together with the Houston Texans.
While participating in a charity golf tournament hosted by the Browns on Tuesday, Watson spoke on D-Hop, and if he’d like to play with him again.
Watson Gets Blunt About Reunion With D-Hop In Cleveland
Watson wasn’t going to tell upper management what moves to make, but he did insinuate that he’d like to see Hopkins playing on the shores of Lake Erie.
“That’s kind of out of my range of things,” Watson said. “All I can do is make a call and see what happens.”
“Me and D-Hop, we just naturally talk,” Watson said. “We’ve been talking since Houston days. “He’s always been a brother of mine. Our connection, our relationship has always been great. Of course, we would love to have him. He knows that.”
D-Hop Hires Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports
In an effort to help him sift through the process, Hopkins who was representing himself, has hired Klutch Sports to help him choose his next playing destination.
When the two were teammates in Houston, Hopkins was named first-team All-Pro three consecutive seasons (2017-19).
Watson Says Cleveland Checks All The Boxes Hopkins Is Looking For
Hopkins who’ll turn 31 in about a week, laid out what he’s looking for in an organization during his recent appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast. Those three things are “stable management, quarterback who loves football like I do,” and a “great defense.”
The Browns do check all those boxes, or at least have the potential to do so, and Watson mentioned that in his interview.
“I’ll just say this, D-Hop, DeAndre Hopkins would love to be in a place where the opportunity is there for us to win,” Watson said Tuesday. “We check all those boxes and I think for us to know and make sure we check all those boxes on the national stage, we’ve got to go out there and prove it and I think D-Hop would love to be a part of that.”
Watson is saying all the right things to woo his good friend, but Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski state that he’s happy with the team’s current receiver room following some offseason additions.
Stefanski should want to add Hopkins. He can help the embattled coach keeps his job beyond the 2023 season.
