What other free agent options remain for Patriots after DeAndre Hopkins signing?
The top free agent that was on the market is off the board as Hopkins is reportedly signing with the Titans.
DeAndre Hopkins won’t be joining the Patriots.
The All-Pro wide receiver is nearing a deal to sign with the Tennesse Titans, according to multiple reports. Hopkins is expected to receive a two-year, $26 million deal to join the Titans that includes incentives that could add an extra $6 million, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
Hopkins’s decision not to sign with the Patriots certainly feels like a blow, even if the team reportedly wasn’t as aggressive in their pursuit of the wideout as the Titans.
Still, the Patriots have an ample amount of cap space to make a move or two if they’d like to before the season. They have nearly $17 million in cap room, per Miguel Benzan (@PatsCap on Twitter).
Hopkins was the top prize on the free agency market ever since the Cardinals released him in late May. He was also the player the Patriots were most linked to on the open market as they hosted him for a visit in mid-June.
However, there are several other notable free-agent options remaining. The newest player up for consideration is Dalvin Cook, the former Vikings running back that rushed for over 1,000 yards in the last four seasons. Despite his productivity, Minnesota released the 27-year-old in June to unload his contract after the team was unable to find a trade partner for him.
Cook has seemed to express interest in joining the Patriots. On one weekend in late June, Cook liked and retweeted multiple tweets that said he should join New England.
Cook liked more tweets on Sunday linking him to the Patriots. It should be noted he’s done the same with the Dolphins and Jets as well. New England’s AFC East rivals have reportedly been among the top suitors for the Pro Bowl running back.
Staying at running back, Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette are also still on the free-agent market after their former teams released them toward the start of the offseason. Kareem Hunt is on the market, too.
All three running backs, who are all either 28 years old or will turn 28 in the coming weeks, are coming off inefficient seasons. They all rushed for fewer than four yards per carry in 2022. However, Hunt and Fournette could add a receiving element out of the Patriots’ backfield. Fournette had 142 receptions over the last two seasons and Hunt has 17 receiving touchdowns in his six-year career.
In terms of wide receivers, there’s a dropoff after Hopkins. Jarvis Landry is arguably the best remaining free-agent receiver, but he only had 25 receptions in nine games with the New Orleans Saints last season. Other notable names at the position include Julio Jones, Kenny Golladay, and T.Y. Hilton. They combined for 37 receptions in 25 total games among them last season.
There are some more big names on the defensive side of the ball if New England decided to bulk up its defense even more. But most of them are edge players, a position that is arguably one of the Patriots’ best. Jadeveon Clowney is the top name if the Patriots wanted to add depth, while Yannick Ngakoue, who had 9.5 sacks last season, is also a free agent.
If the Patriots were to add a defensive player, it could be at cornerback due to the uncertainty of second-year corner Jack Jones’s situation following his arrest in June. Three-time Pro Bowler Marcus Peters and former Broncos corner Ronald Darby are still out there if the Patriots wanted to pursue that possibility. Peters recorded just one interception with the Ravens last season while Darby tore his ACL in Week 5 of the 2022 season.
Of course, the Patriots can always pursue a trade, too. Cardinals safety Budda Baker is arguably the best player out there that has made a trade request that hasn’t been honored yet.
It should also be noted too that there are still several weeks until the start of the regular season, even if training camp opens in 10 days. The 53-man roster doesn’t have to be set until late August, and that could lead the Patriots to make an addition somewhere via trade.
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