Getty Quarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears speaks to the media during minicamp in June 2023.
The Chicago Bears didn’t necessarily plan on contending this season, but plans can change quickly under extraordinary circumstances.
Extraordinary circumstances with the power to change Chicago’s immediate fortunes are precisely what free agent DeAndre Hopkins can offer the team, according to Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report who believes the Bears are among the rebuilding NFL franchises that can become “instant playoff contenders” by inking the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.
“Compared to last offseason, the Bears have done a much better job of strengthening Fields’ supporting cast, and it should pay off in the upcoming season,” Moton wrote on Wednesday, July 5. “But they can put the cherry on top of their efforts with the addition of Hopkins, who would be a decent complement to [D.J.] Moore on the perimeter, which would allow Darnell Mooney to work primarily out of the slot.”
DeAndre Hopkins Remains Open to Offers, Cracking Door for Bears to Make Run at His Services
GettyFree agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has indicated he is in “no rush” to sign with an NFL team as free agency presses on through early July, 2023.
The Bears were clearly in the market for a No. 1 wideout heading into the offseason and, as such, were named among the frontrunners to potentially trade for Hopkins back when he was still a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
Chicago then appeared to find its man by way of trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for the aforementioned Moore and a boatload of draft capital. It was a move that presumably took the Bears out of the running for any other receivers, especially after trading what eventually became the first pick in the second round of this year’s draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wideout Chase Claypool.
But circumstances have changed, and changed drastically. Claypool caught just 14 passes for 140 yards and scored zero touchdowns across seven games for Chicago last season. The Bears could demote him to the first receiver off the bench, re-establish his value through moderate usage and trade him ahead of the mid-season deadline for a mid- to late-round draft pick.
The strategy is viable considering players like Hopkins are so rarely available via free agency. The 31-year-old future Hall-of-Famer has watched his contract value drop as free agency has pressed on into the summer. A similar market as existed for now-Baltimore Ravens wideout Odell Beckham Jr. — which guaranteed him $15 million, plus incentives on a one-year deal — doesn’t appear to be there for Hopkins. Tim Graham of The Athletic reported on June 1 that Hopkins was looking for Beckham-level money, or greater, annually as he prepares to enter his 11th NFL season.
Hopkins has taken official meetings with both the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans since becoming a free agent, though subsequently said that he was in “no rush” to sign anywhere, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Nothing has been reported on whether either team offered the receiver a deal, or what the details of any contract offers are — if, indeed, any have been made. However, the strong implication of events as they have played out is that Hopkins remains open to other suitors, assuming those franchises come correct with the kind of offer he wants.
DeAndre Hopkins Remains Dangerous Wide Receiver in 30s, Legitimate Option for Bears
GettyFree agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins could fit in with the Chicago Bears’ plans in 2023 and beyond.
Chicago continues to lead the league in available salary cap space with north of $32 million at its disposal as of July 5. The Bears can afford to make Hopkins the best offer he’s going to see this offseason, and there is a legitimate argument for the team to do exactly that.
As Moton pointed out, Chicago’s pass offense was dead last in yardage gained in 2022. It was also 28th in total yards gained and 23rd in scoring. The team’s offensive line appears set, with the coaching staff affording second-year left tackle Braxton Jones some rope to continue learning the position after a solid effort there during his rookie campaign.
The Bears are going to tackle the rushing game by committee and have two tight ends in Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan to flank their third-year franchise quarterback.
The defense needs an edge rusher desperately, but Chicago could wait to use either its own first-rounder in 2024, or the first-round selection it got back from Carolina as part of the Moore trade, to draft top-rated collegiate edge rusher Jared Verse out of Florida State.
Hopkins may not be interested in being part of a rebuild, but if that rebuild included a shot to win a relatively weak NFC North Division in 2023 as well as legitimate contention in 2024, he may well relocate to Chicago for the right kind of money. It will all ultimately come down to a value judgment by Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
Hopkins has produced 106 catches for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns across 19 games played over the last two seasons, per Pro Football Reference. Injuries hampered him in 2021, but Hopkins missed the vast majority of his games in 2022 due to a suspension from the league office for violating its performance enhancing drug (PED) policy.
The point being that while Hopkins is on the wrong side of 30, he isn’t coming off multiple serious injuries that produce any major cause for concern. When he has played over the past two years, Hopkins’ production has totaled more than 5.5 catches for 68 yards and 0.6 touchdowns per game. He accomplished those averages as part of a Cardinals’ team that is 7-18 in its last 25 regular season games and finished dead last in the NFC West Division last season.
If Poles sees a player in Hopkins who can offer the Bears value over the next two or three seasons at a reasonable annual number — a number that Hopkins can also live with as he enters the end of his prime/beginning of his career’s twilight — then a deal absolutely has the potential to get done ahead of training camp, which begins at the end of July.