Veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins just bounced from one major rival of the Cincinnati Bengals to another.
Hopkins finished out the 2024 NFL season as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs after being traded from the Tennessee Titans prior to the deadline, and now he'll play the 2025 season as a member of the division-rival Baltimore Ravens.
Hopkins is a five-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, who led the league in receiving touchdowns back in 2017.
Ravens add DeAndre Hopkins to already-dangerous roster
Baltimore will sign Hopkins to a one-year deal worth $6 million, according to Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports. He'll now join an offensive attack in Baltimore that already includes two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, stud running back Derrick Henry and other solid pass-catchers in Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers.
This is obviously bad news for the Bengals, as they have to play against Baltimore twice a year and compete directly with them for a spot in the playoffs and postseason positioning.
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Even if Hopkins is "washed," or not the player he used to be, he's still a serviceable wide receiver in the league. He had over 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, and while his production dipped last year, part of that could be due to the fact that he was traded midseason and had to learn a new offense in Kansas City without the benefit of a training camp.
Hopkins still has big-play potential, and that alone will make Baltimore's offensive attack even more difficult to defend -- especially for a team with some serious concerns in the secondary, like Cincinnati.
The Ravens beat the Bengals in both of the meetings between the two teams last season, and they scored over 35 points in both contests. To this point, Cincinnati has done little to improve their defense in free agency, while the Ravens have added another weapon on offense.
It remains to be seen how big of a factor Hopkins will actually be in Baltimore, but on paper his addition is a concern for Cincinnati.