Steelers Listed Among Favorites to Trade for DeAndre Hopkins

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the favorite to land star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade, according to odds posted Wednesday by SportsBetting.ag.

Hopkins, 31, is in his first season with the Tennessee Titans, and things haven’t exactly gone to plan for his club. The team has struggled out of the gate and quarterback Ryan Tannehill is injured.

The Titans are 2-4, well behind the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2), and even behind the Houston Texans (3-3) and Indianapolis Colts (3-4), who are both rebuilding and starting rookie quarterbacks.

The team has already traded away safety Kevin Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles, getting Terrell Edmunds and draft picks back in return. The team could next look to move on from Hopkins, who could be of better use to a contending team.

A five-time All-Pro, Hopkins led the NFL in receiving yards with Houston in 2017. He had five 1,000-yard seasons in seven years with the Texans, and two others with more than 800. 

He was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2020, and his first season in the desert was one of his best, with 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. But since then, he’s struggled to consistently stay on the field. He played 10 games in 2021 and then just nine in 2022.

Hopkins signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Titans before this season. He has a base salary of $1.165 million this season, but that expands to $8.27 million with a $4.46 million roster bonus for 2024. Tennesse will absorb a massive dead salary cap hit by trading Hopkins. a

SportsBetting listed the Steelers with 5/1 odds to be the next team for Hopkins. The Steelers don’t have an obvious need at wide receiver after getting Diontae Johnson back from injury, but Hopkins could be an upgrade over third receiver Allen Robinson II.

Hopkins has 27 catches for 376 yards this season. Robinson has 18 grabs for 144 yards. The Steelers have a vacant roster spot and just five receivers on their active roster after releasing Gunner Olszewski on Saturday.

The other teams listed toward the top of the board were the Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks (6/1), Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars (7/1); and Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams (10/1).