DeAndre Hopkins finished a rather truncated stint with the Tennessee Titans. However, that did not stop the new Kansas City Chiefs receiver from saying goodbye with class.
The five-time Pro Bowl player used his personal X account, formerly known as his Twitter account, to send one last thank you to the city and its fans.
“Thank you Nashville for bringing joy on and off the field. Nashville will forever be our home! Hopkins posted.
Hopkins now heads to the league’s only undefeated left. Kansas City is 6-0, but needed help at wide receiver.
The Chiefs lost Rashee Rice, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster to injuries. Smith-Schuster became the latest to suffer a hamstring ailment Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Tennessee gained a future fifth-round selection in the deal involving Hopkins. That the choice becomes a fourth round if Hopkins plays at least 60% of his snaps with the Chiefs, or if the team wins the Super Bowl, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
DeAndre Hopkins talks Chiefs trade
Hopkins only completed two seasons with the Titans. He managed to play 23 games in total with 19 starts. His Titan teams went a dismal 7-16 overall and underwent a coaching change with the firing of Mike Vrabel after 2023.
Despite the shortened and disappointing tenure, Hopkins still thanked his former CEO.
“I have to first thank (Titans general manager) Ran (Carthon) and his staff for trading me for a contender, because those guys could have traded me anywhere,” Hopkins said Thursday. when speaking to the media. “It means a lot.”
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He would go on to a decorated career with four 100-catch campaigns, seven 1,000-yard seasons and three All-Pro nominations. But he still believes Kansas City is where his game can elevate.
“It takes your game to a different level,” Hopkins said. “It will require your concentration, your dynamism, knowing that you are playing for something. It takes your game to a different level. I haven’t played football in any meaningful way in a few years since we probably started 8-0 in Arizona. So it takes your game to a different level.
Hopkins hasn’t played for a playoff contender since the 2021 Cardinals, who went 11-6 overall but fell in the first round of the NFC playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams. He hasn’t made the playoffs since. He now finds himself in a place that has four Vince Lombardi trophies, including three from the 2019 season.
The 32-year-old will enter the Chiefs’ game Sunday against their AFC West rival, the Las Vegas Raiders. Hopkins is 3-2 all-time against the Silver and Black, but has never played in Sin City. He was not active during the Cardinals’ September 18, 2022 road trip to Allegiant Stadium.
