The Kansas City Chiefs joined the wide receiver trade party with a big splash on Wednesday morning. The Chiefs agreed to a deal with the Tennessee Titans to acquire star receiver DeAndre Hopkins, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources informed of the situation.
Rapoport added that the deal is for a fifth-round pick that can become a fourth-rounder, and Tennessee will pay roughly half of Hopkins' remaining salary.
ESPN first reported the news.
The 2025 fifth-rounder the Titans are receiving will become a fourth-round selection if Kansas City reaches Super Bowl LIX and Hopkins plays 60% of snaps as a Chief, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported, per sources. Tennessee is also paying Hopkins $2.5 million to finalize the deal, per Pelissero.
Hopkins Joins a Needy Receiving Corps
Hopkins was always the most logical trade candidate to help fill the Chiefs' glaring hole at receiver. The big-play wideout started the season slowly, coming off an injury, but proved he still has juice and can win one-on-one matchups. His ability to snatch the pigskin in tight coverage hasn't diminished with age.
The Chiefs were one of the teams in the running to sign Hopkins in 2023 after his release from Arizona, but Tennessee outbid them. Now, K.C. has snagged its guy.
Adding the five-time Pro Bowler is a massive move for the 6-0 Chiefs as they chase a third consecutive Super Bowl. K.C.'s offseason plan to revamp its receiver corps went awry. Hollywood Brown got injured before the season. Rashee Rice suffered a knee injury in Week 4. Then JuJu Smith-Schuster went down with a hamstring injury last week.
The injuries left the Chiefs' receiver room in shambles, leaning on speedy rookie Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, and Skyy Moore. In Week 7, backup tight end Noah Gray led K.C. with 66 yards on four catches in a win over the 49ers.
Hopkins' Impact on the Chiefs
In steps Hopkins.
The 32-year-old receiver has 173 yards and one touchdown on 15 catches in six games this season. He ranked second on the Titans in receiving yards (Calvin Ridley, 183). Tennessee doesn't have a single pass catcher with 200 receiving yards on the season. For perspective, 49ers No. 3 receiver Jauan Jennings had more yards in one game (175) than Hopkins has in the entire 2024 season. The passing attack simply hasn't been there for the Titans in Brian Callahan's first season with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph under center. Thus, Hopkins, in the final year of his contract, was a superfluous piece.
The Titans will move forward with Ridley and Tyler Boyd atop their depth chart.
The willingness for Tennessee to eat some of Hopkins' contract helped push the deal over the finish line for the Chiefs, who sit in the bottom quarter in terms of cap space, per Over The Cap.
The Chiefs have gotten off to a 6-0 despite the offense's inability to sustain drives and pile-up points. Patrick Mahomes has just one 300-plus-yard passing performance on the season thus far. Despite being out for two games, Rice still leads K.C. in receiving yards.
With the lack of threats on the outside, teams have been able to smother star tight end Travis Kelce, taking away Mahomes' security blanket for most of the season. Worthy has flashed moments with his burning speed, but the rookie is still finding his way. K.C. spent the bulk of the past two years piecemealing the receiver room together, banking on the magic of Mahomes and Kelce to fill in the gaps. But the injuries this year forced the front office to make a move.
They made a massive one on Wednesday.
Adding Hopkins gives Mahomes a go-to target who can win on the outside and slots the rest of the crew into more comfortable roles. His presence allows Worthy to stretch the field and opens up the middle for Kelce.
The back-to-back Super Bowl champs and the only undefeated team in the NFL just got a whole lot better as they chase a three-peat.
Hopkins' Addition Gives the Chiefs a Big Boost
The Chiefs have a knack for getting midseason trades for wide receivers right. In 2022, they sent a couple of draft picks to the New York Giants for Kadarius Toney, who in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles scored a touchdown and set up another with a long punt return. Last season the acquisition was Mecole Hardman from the New York Jets. Hardman caught the touchdown pass in overtime to secure the Chiefs a Super Bowl LVIII victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
These trades have a way of working out the way the Chiefs intend, which is why they tried it again this season by making a deal Wednesday with the Tennessee Titans for DeAndre Hopkins, whom they acquired for a conditional fourth-round pick.
It's going to take even more from the 32-year-old Hopkins, who unlike Toney or Hardman is an established if aging star, to make this trade work in the Chiefs' favor. The Toney deal was aimed more at the future, to help bolster a receiving group in the wake of the Tyreek Hill trade. That part didn't work out so well for the Chiefs, who released Toney at the end of training camp this year.
Hardman was acquired for depth. The Chiefs need Hopkins to be their No. 1 wide receiver by the playoffs -- if not sooner.
The initial candidates to be the top wideout, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown, are out with injuries. Rice is done for the season with a right knee injury. Brown, who suffered a sternoclavicular injury during the preseason, could return by the postseason.
Before the Hopkins trade, the Chiefs were left at wide receiver with Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Watson, Hardman and Skyy Moore. At this point of their careers, at least, there isn't a No. 1 wide receiver in that bunch.
Worthy, the Chiefs' 2024 first-round draft pick, may eventually get to that point, but for now he's a 21-year-old rookie. He has been what the Chiefs expected at this stage of his career, which is a high-impact but low-volume receiver. He has 15 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 13.2 yards per catch.
Smith-Schuster has a hamstring injury that popped up in practice last week and knocked him out in the first quarter last week against the 49ers. The Chiefs have said he won't play on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders. He will be back later in the season, but the Chiefs didn't bring him back with the expectation of being their No. 1 wideout. Despite his recent big game against the New Orleans Saints, he's more of a complementary player.
Watson and Hardman also fit into the complementary category. Moore has produced little since joining the Chiefs in 2022.
So Hopkins can't be a gadget piece unveiled on special plays tailored for him, as Toney was. He can't be a backup who on the final play of last year's Super Bowl was in the right place at the right time, as Hardman was. He has to produce big numbers, which he has in the past. Hopkins has had 1,000 or more yards receiving in seven of his 11 seasons in the league including last season with the Titans. He is also a five-time first- or second-team All-Pro.
The Chiefs made it to 6-0 with this group of receivers. But giving it a more critical eye, as general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid are paid to do, did they have enough to beat a series of top-quality opponents in the postseason?
By making the Hopkins trade, the Chiefs gave their answer on that question loud and clear. Whether the Chiefs eventually look back on this trade favorably -- and more importantly whether they win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl championship -- depends on Hopkins and what they can get from him.
