$144million WR considering Patriots coaching role as Hall of Fame career looks to have come to an end

DeAndre Hopkins appears to be mulling over whether to call time on his NFL playing career.

The veteran wide receiver spent last season – Year 13 in the NFL – with the Baltimore Ravens, but barely saw the ball.

Getty

In fact, the 34-year-old started just three games for the AFC North outfit, and had 22 receptions for 330 yards and two touchdowns – all career-lows – though he did average 15 yards per catch.

Having begun his career as a first-round pick at the Houston Texans, Hopkins very quickly developed into a No. 1 option at wide receiver, and has been named to five Pro Bowls in his career.

The five-time All-Pro’s best years were in Houston, though, where he recorded five of his seven 1,000-plus receiving yard seasons, with the other two coming at the Arizona Cardinals (2020) and Tennessee Titans (2023), respectively.

If it is to be the end of his playing career, then the $144 million WR1 will go down as one of the greatest receivers of his generation, featuring in 204 games in which he has amassed a total of 1,046 receptions, 13,770 receiving yards and 87 touchdowns.

These numbers very much propel him to be considered a certain lock for the Hall of Fame one day.

But for now, at least, Hopkins is taking the time to decide whether he is done with playing, having previously been linked with a move to the Minnesota Vikings this summer, and if he is, what comes next.

On Friday, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel – who has been in the news a lot this off-season – announced that Hopkins has joined up with the organization to assist the team’s coaching staff.

“DeAndre Hopkins is here with us just to kind of check things out as far as what he wants to do as far as coaching. You’ll see him on the field,” Vrabel said during a pre-training camp press conference.

“He asked if he could hang out for a couple of days and be around the coaches and around the personnel department.

“I called the league to make sure that was going to be okay, and then I invited him back. That’s where he’s been the last couple of days, and he’ll be here for the next couple of days.”

Getty

Vrabel and Hopkins’ relationship goes way back, with the two having first worked together at the Texans in 2014 when Vrabel had just been brought in by Bill O’Brien as a linebackers coach.

The two then reunited again in 2023 at the Titans when Vrabel was the head coach.

“He has got coaching gear on, and he is helping out the offensive coaches,” Vrabel added. “And meeting with our personnel guys. I mean, he loves football.

“People that love football and have played the game for the length of time that he did, he wants, I think, to explore the opportunities and what that looks like after his playing career is over.”

But Hopkins hasn’t shut the door on suiting up for another NFL team in 2026 just yet.

“I still got a lot of ball left. But it’s not a situation I’m sitting here trying to force or go out and be the regular-season superstar because that’s for the young guys, man,” Hopkins said back on June 24.

Getty

“That’s for the people that they want to develop and give those contracts for the future

“I know in my position, I’m a utility guy. I’m a special situation kind of guy. I can go out there and beat anybody one on one at any time, but as of lately, I’ve been a third-down guy.

“I wasn’t used in the red zone last year. But third down, they’re gonna put D-Hop in, they’re gonna come to me. I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon.”

Stay up to date on all things NFL across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.