Lions Connected to Former $81 Million Star

Getty Head coach Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions were linked in a potential trade for a 3-time first-team All-Pro.

The Detroit Lions finished fifth in the NFL in scoring last season and enter the 2023 season with one of the best offenses on paper.

But if there’s one area of need remaining for the Lions offense, it’s at wide receiver. The NFL suspended second-year wideout Jameson Williams for the first six games of the 2023 season, cutting into Detroit’s receiver depth to begin 2023.

CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin had a potential solution to Detroit’s limited wide receiver depth — trade for 3-time first-team All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins.

Benjamin named the Lions one of five possible landing spots for Hopkins if the Arizona Cardinals elected to trade him before the start of the 2023 season.

“One of the most obvious trade candidates of the offseason, Hopkins remains an elite technician when healthy,” Benjamin wrote. “Marquise Brown is also in tow and eligible for an extension, and Hopkins, whose exit would save an instant $8.9M, still profiles as a borderline No. 1 for a contender.”

Hopkins will be entering his 11th season in the NFL this fall. He has recorded 853 receptions, 11,298 receiving yards, and 71 touchdowns for the Cardinals and Houston Texans.

Hopkins signed a five-year, $81 million contract with the Texans after his rookie deal expired in 2017. He signed a two-year extension with the Cardinals in 2020.

Could Lions Trade for WR DeAndre Hopkins?

Benjamin isn’t the first to link the Lions to Hopkins.

When Bookies.com’s first released the receiver’s trade odds right after the end of the regular season, the Lions were ranked with the sixth-best betting odds for landing Hopkins.

Lions pundits such as SB Nation’s Mike Payton have also urged the Lions to pursue Hopkins.

Landing the veteran receiver would certainly be a big way of replacing the suspended Williams. In addition to three first-team All-Pro nominations, Hopkins has made second-team All-Pro twice and five Pro Bowls.

From 2014-20, he posted at least 75 catches and 950 receiving yards every year.

The problem, though, is he’s dealt with injuries and his own suspension issue recently. He sustained hamstring and knee injuries that limited him to 10 games in 2021. Then last season, he sat out the first six games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

Hopkins had missed only two games before 2020. Since then, he’s sat out 15 contests.

Pros & Cons to Lions Trading for Hopkins

When healthy, Hopkins is still a strong contributor and, as Benjamin wrote, even a borderline No. 1 receiver in the league.

Last season, he caught 64 of his 96 targets for 717 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 11.2 yards per catch average was tied for the lowest of his career, but he made first-team All-Pro with that same average in 2019.

Hopkins averaged 79.7 receiving yards per game and caught 66.7% of his targets. Over the course of a whole season, he was on pace to record 1,354 receiving yards. Furthermore, his 2022 catch percentage was higher than it was the prior season.

The Lions receiving core would be extremely lethal with the addition of Hopkins. Opposing secondaries would have no choice but to either match up with Hopkins or fellow receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in single coverage.

The addition of Hopkins would also mean very favorable matchups for receivers Marvin Jones and Josh Reynolds. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs should be factors in the Lions passing game too.

Acquiring Hopkins, though, would be a clear “all-in” move that Fansided writer Brad Berreman isn’t sure Lions general manager Brad Holmes is ready to make.

Furthermore, Hopkins is signed through the 2024 season. His addition could make it difficult to find snaps and targets for Williams, who the Lions drafted in the first round just last year.

In the short term, Hopkins could take the Lions offense to yet another level. But the long-term ramifications of acquiring him appears to make a trade for the 3-time All-Pro unlikely to happen.