What Colin Cowherd Believes DeAndre Hopkins Deal Said About Patriots

Colin Cowherd believes the results of the DeAndre Hopkins were a tough look for the Patriots.

New England appeared to be one of the finalists for the services of Hopkins, who took a patient approach with his free agency after his release from the Arizona Cardinals in late May. Although Foxboro, Mass. could have been a great landing spot for the five-time Pro Bowl selection, he ultimately chose to take his talents to Tennessee.

And when you compare selling points between the Patriots and the Titans, Cowherd believes it’s telling that Hopkins picked Nashville to be his next NFL home.

“It’s more of an indictment on New England,” Cowherd said Monday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “…DeAndre Hopkins did not choose (Bill) Belichick, with six, seven Super Bowl rings. Did not choose offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who won a division with Brock Osweiler. He didn’t choose Mac Jones, a first-round pick who’s clearly their No. 1 quarterback. No, he chose Tennessee with a shaky offensive line, running back-dominant and you have no idea what the future is at quarterback. Will Levis, Malik Willis, Ryan Tannehill, and yet (Mike) Vrabel sold him on it. That’s all this was. Free agency is salesmanship.”

Cowherd continued: “To me, this is more of an indictment on New England — again, can’t sell their vision offensively. I mean, Bill O’Brien got to the playoffs four different times. Belichick’s a legend. Mac Jones, say what you want, is clearly the future at quarterback. They couldn’t sell that over a run-dominant team with most of their talent on defense and they don’t know what the quarterback is by November. And they (Titans) won.”

Cowherd left a key factor out of his diatribe, and it might have been the one that pushed Tennessee over the top in the pursuit of Hopkins. The Titans presented the 31-year-old with a satisfactory financial offer, whereas the Patriots reportedly didn’t bring enough cash to the negotiating table. And at this stage in Hopkins’ career, no one can blame him for going with the richest offer.

That said, the Patriots had the money to tickle Hopkins’ fancy, so the real story here is New England’s apparent unwillingness to pony up for a player who could have been an immediate difference-maker.