Deshaun Watson says he's been in touch with DeAndre Hopkins: 'We would love to have him'
Here’s a thought. Maybe Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins should get back together on the same team. After all, the two made beautiful offense when both were with Houston.
The Cardinals announced their intentions to cut Hopkins last Friday. He should officially hit the free-agent market sometime this week. His future definitely is up in the air. Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson has a home in Cleveland, and reporters peppered the Browns quarterback with questions about DeAndre Hopkins.
“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 said. “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. We have a lot of connections, but that’s kind of out of my range of things … All I can do is make a call and see what happens. Let AB do the rest.”
AB is Andrew Berry, the Browns general manager.
So what does Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski think about a deal that reunites DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson? He decided not to give a substantial comment.
“I really, really like our wide receiver room,” Stefanski told reporters Tuesday. “I love the guys that are in there. Andrew (Berry) and his crew are always looking at every avenue, so I won’t comment specifically on the player other than to say that I really like our roster.”
The Browns were active in adding receivers this off-season. Cleveland signed Elijah Moore and Marquise Goodwin. Plus, the Browns used a third-round pick to draft Cedric Tillman. Watson already can throw to a group that includes Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, David Bell, and Anthony Schwartz return from last season.
But DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson, the two former Clemson Tigers, have nice chemistry together. They played three seasons together in Houston before Hopkins left for a bigger contract in Arizona.
When Watson was a rookie in 2017, Hopkins served as a comfortable option. The receiver caught 96 passes for 1,378 yards and an NFL-best 13 touchdowns. Hopkins’ numbers increased in 2018. Hopkins made 115 catches for 1,572 yards and 11 scores. And 2019 was a near repeat of the previous two seasons. He caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards and seven touchdowns.
But money could be the biggest obstacle keeping DeAndre Hopkins from Deshaun Watson. The Chiefs and Bills tried to make a run at Hopkins via trade with the Cardinals. But that didn’t work out. Meanwhile, the Browns only have $6.9 million in cap space.
Maybe the two can play catch again.