Steelers Opponent Signs DeAndre Hopkins

The Tennessee Titans are likely to sign star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, according to multiple reports. Pittsburgh will face the new star receiver in the AFC on November 2nd at Acrisure Stadium, putting another star receiver on the Steelers schedule for 2023.

Hopkins will get paid $26 million over 2 years with the Titans to be the top target for Ryan Tannehill along with elite running back Derrick Henry. The team failed to replace what A.J. Brown brought to the field, but with Hopkins and Treylon Burks, the receiving corps is beginning to come together.

There was fear that Hopkins could sign with a Steelers rival, specifically the Cleveland Browns, and reunite with his old quarterback in Houston, Deshaun Watson. However, it seems that Hopkins was looking for a payday after the Arizona Cardinals released him, and he earned a rich contract with the Titans as a result of that.

There were reports that the Browns were not interested in adding a big-name receiver. In fact, a visit altogether never was scheduled as a result of that lack of interest. It seems with Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and others in the room, Cleveland is content with standing pat at this point in their receiver room.

Hopkins, 30, spent three seasons in Arizona, but played just one full year, when the caught 115 passes for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. Since then, Hopkins’ availability and  an injury to Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray combined to limit his contributions. In 2021, he missed three weeks with a hamstring injury, then the final four with an MCL injury.

In 2022, Hopkins was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. He was found to have ostarine in his system from a test taken in Nov. 2021. The test sample was small, but the NFL has a zero-tolerance policy for drugs like ostariene, an androgen receptor or SARM, which have similar effects to anabolic steroids. Hopkins has maintained that he does not know how the substance entered his body.