Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins named team's biggest contract priority

Tennessee Titans veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was a pleasant surprise for the team last season. The Titans pounced on Hopkins' availability after the Arizona Cardinals released him from his contract. The five-time Pro Bowler was surprisingly met with lukewarm interest on the open market.

The Titans signed Hopkins to a modest two-year, $26 million deal. The aging 32-year-old playmaker repaid their faith by producing a 1,000-yard season, his first since 2020. Hopkins' season was more impressive considering the Titans fielded one of the worst offenses and passing-game protection in the league. He also played for two quarterbacks, and was the only respectable pass-catching threat on the team, one that quickly became Will Levis' go-to option.

Hopkins is now entering a contract season. The Titans didn't entertain an extension this offseason, though talks could still develop as we approach training camp. Instead, general manager Ran Carthon upgraded the positions opposite Hopkins, signing Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in free agency.

That's precisely why The Athletic's Joe Rexrode named Hopkins as the team's No. 1 contract situation worth monitoring. Rexrode noted that Hopkins outperformed his contract in 2023, a fact we won't dispute.

"In the spring, he [Hopkins] did what many players often do, removing pictures and affiliations featuring team logos from his social media accounts," Rexrode wrote. "But he was around and joined Will Levis and other receivers on a tropical trip to work and have fun. The question for the Titans is whether it’s worth getting out in front and trying to extend Hopkins before the season. Is that wise for a 32-year-old receiver? If they don’t do it, will they lose him just as he and Levis and this Brian Callahan offense start to click?"

The wide receiver market has exploded this offseason. Hopkins' average annual salary of $13 million is now the 28th-highest in the league, according to Spotrac. He's nowhere near the Titans' highest-paid receiver anymore, with Ridley's deal coming in at $23 million per season.

Rexrode makes some outstanding points. If Hopkins continues to be Levis' go-to receiver and quickly establishes himself as a dominant "X" receiver in Callahan's offense, it would behoove the Titans to keep him around beyond 2024. Of course, Carthon must approach that potential contract with caution given his advancing age.

It only becomes an easy decision if Hopkins' age starts showing, Ridley (and/or Boyd) surpasses him in the passing-game pecking order, and Levis no longer views him as his preferred receiver. Nobody in Nashville is rooting for that.