Treylon Burks fine if Titans don't land DeAndre Hopkins
Don’t expect Treylon Burks to lose any sleep if the Tennessee Titans fail to land free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
The second-year wideout and 2022 first-round pick said Wednesday that while Hopkins is a great talent, he likes playing with “who we have here.”
“He’s an awesome player, great player. It would be fun to play with him,” Burks said, via NFL.com. “If we end up getting him, then we get him. If we don’t, then we don’t. No offense to him — he’s a great player — I’m just glad, I like playing with who we have here.”
Hopkins, 31, is on the free agent market after the Arizona Cardinals released him on May 26. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Hopkins will be in Nashville Sunday to meet with the Titans. Head coach Mike Vrabel later confirmed Pelissero’s report after Wednesday’s OTAs.
“The first thing is we want players that want to be here,” Vrabel said. “We’ll work through anything else. We brought in a bunch of different players, and DeAndre will be somebody that we’ll bring in next week, early next week, at the end of this week, and go through the same visit we’ll go through with everybody and start the process.”
DeAndre Hopkins would provide boost to Titans’ WR corps
Hopkins suited up in just nine games this past season, but was his usual productive self. Hopkins hauled in 64 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns. During his first season with the Cardinals in 2020, Hopkins recorded 115 catches with 1,407 and six scores.
Prior to his arrival in Arizona, Hopkins spent seven seasons with the Houston Texans. Hopkins had five 1,000-yard seasons in Houston and four Pro Bowl appearances. His near $31 million cap hit, however, made him expendable for the rebuilding Cardinals. Arizona will incur $22.6 million in dead cap money this season by moving on from Hopkins.
The Titans, meanwhile, are in need of star power to pair alongside Burks in their wide receiving corps. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Kyle Phillips are currently slated to slot behind Burks, who hauled in 33 receptions for 444 yards and a score his rookie season.
Fitting Hopkins under the salary cap could create some challenges. Tennessee has just $7.9 million in cap space, meaning the Titans will likely have to get creative to secure Hopkins.