Brian Daboll says Giants plan on taking a close look at DeAndre Hopkins

Well, he didn’t say no. Reporters asked Giants coach Brian Daboll about the possibility of signing receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the newest free agent on the market. Daboll could’ve provided a no comment or maybe a flat no. Instead, this is what he had to offer:

“Like last year, anytime there is someone available that’s a free agent, I would say Joe and his staff are going to look into it, research it,” Daboll said, specifically mentioning Giants GM Joe Schoen. “We talk about a lot of different players, regardless of who it is.

“That’s part of our job, to make sure we are doing our due diligence.”

The Giants also checked on whether it was a good idea to sign Odell Beckham, a one-time Giants first rounder. But instead of reuniting with his old team, Beckham signed with the Ravens.

So maybe DeAndre Hopkins is an option for the Giants, who just gave quarterback Daniel Jones a $40 million a year extension. Jones needs more offensive weapons. So why not Hopkins? New York have $6.1 million in cap money. The Giants probably could get creative and make it work. But will they do so?

The Cardinals announced intentions to cut DeAndre Hopkins last Friday. But the team didn’t make it official until Tuesday. Presumably, Memorial Day had something to do with the late release.

Arizona had Hopkins on the trading block for much of the off season. But the Cardinals couldn’t cut a deal. The Chiefs and Bills are believed to be the two teams who made inquires about Hopkins. It remains to be seen whether they’d want to sign him now that he’s been released.

Meanwhile, an unidentified NFL executive said he’s not sure there will be any interest in Hopkins, who turns 31 next Tuesday. A Sports Illustrated reporter asked the executive how much the receiver has left. “Not much,” the executive answered. “He can’t run anymore.” But another SI source said “He’s still a good player. Good route-runner, big, physical target that can play a ball in the air. He’s still a threat.”

Now, back to the Giants. You could make the case that they don’t need DeAndre Hopkins. The team signed free agents Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder and then selected Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt in the third round of April’s NFL Draft.

Other teams also could be interested in DeAndre Hopkins. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said Tuesday that he and Hopkins, a one-time teammate, have been in touch about Cleveland.

“Me and D-Hop, we just naturally talk. We’ve been talking since the Houston days, and also whenever we left for Arizona, we were always talking,” Watson told reporters. “He’s always been a brother of mine since I was coming out of high school. Our connection, our relationship has always been great.

“I know there’s a lot of things swirling around in the media, him possibly coming to Cleveland,” Watson said. “For me, My answer to that — of course we’d love to have him. He knows that.”