The Baltimore Ravens are not averse to bringing in a veteran wide receiver who can help quarterback Lamar Jackson in his attempt to get over the hump, which is what has led them to former Kansas City Chiefs greybeard DeAndre Hopkins.
While Hopkins is a far cry from the prime player who may end up in Canton one day with the Texans and Cardinals, his stint with the Chiefs showed that he can make productive plays on a team with championship expectations. The Chiefs, however, were unwilling to meet his price.
The Ravens managed to swoop in at the eleventh hour and pick up Hopkins, signing him to a one-year contract worth $5 million that could end up being worth as much as $6 million. Hopkins is clearly trying to sacrifice money in the name of joining a winner.
DeAndre Hopkins leaves Chiefs, joins Ravens on cheap deal
Hopkins caught 41 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns with Kansas City after arriving in a mid-season trade with the Tennessee Titans. Extrapolated out to a full season, Hopkins would have hauled in 70 passes for 743 yards and seven touchdowns as a tertiary passing option.
Hopkins was never the most fleet-of-foot receiver in his prime, and his role with the Ravens will not be that of a vertical field stretcher. Rather, Hopkins’ sticky hands and crafty route-running will make him a solid underneath target on third downs and in the red zone.
Hopkins will be able to assume a role as the No. 3 wide receiver behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, though he could end up pushing Bateman for WR2 snaps. Second-year Day 3 addition Devontez Walker won’t be completely frozen out of the wideout rotation either.
Hopkins is not going to help the Ravens’ offense level up, but there is still one more quality season housed in him. Desperate for a championship ring, Hopkins seems to believe that Baltimore gives him the best chance to finally earn some serious hardware. The fact that he ended up going for Jackson over Patrick Mahomes could be a nice feather in Baltimore's cap.