After missing the playoffs last season, the New England Patriots have gotten stronger thus far in free agency this offseason.
They added wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had just won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as former Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki in the hopes of charging up an offense that finished 17th in points scored and 20th in passing. yards in 2022.
But they could still use another legitimate threat at wide receiver, especially after losing wideout Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Many are expecting the Arizona Cardinals to trade for veteran DeAndre Hopkins, but his price is expected to be steep, and perhaps as a result, the Patriots aren’t expected to pursue him.
Update: DeAndre Hopkins isn’t a “consideration” for the #Patriots at this point, according to @AlbertBreer https://t.co/SwDfDZ64XX https://t.co/AzDWK3mfXc
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 22, 2023
Hopkins, who is 30 years old, has seen his stats fall the last two seasons due to injury and a suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, but he should still be a nice addition for whichever team decides to pull the trigger on him.
He had 717 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 while appearing in nine games and averaging 79.7 yards per contest.
In his 10-year career, Hopkins has gone over 1,150 yards six times and has five Pro Bowl selections and three straight All-Pro first-team nods to his name.
New England is hoping to give quarterback Mac Jones enough weapons so that he can speed up his development and reach his ultimate potential sooner than later.
After making the Pro Bowl as a rookie, Jones had 2,997 passing yards and just 14 touchdown passes in 2022, his second season.
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