After subtly hinting at what he can still offer a new team, free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins removed any doubt about about posssibly having an interest in signing with the Minnesota Vikings with some comments to TMZ.
“Kyler, that’s my boy, man. Kyler is like family. I talked to Kyler throughout the year last year, I talked to him after his situation in Arizona. So, Kyler is like family man. I will always embrace that journey with him.
…Whatever I can do for someone like that. If Kyler needed me, he know I’m there. If the Vikings need me, they know I’ll be there.”
Hopkins minced no words about his desire to reunite with Kyler Murray when asked about his quarterback over the three seasons (2020-2022) he spent with the Arizona Cardinals.
And it seems like he has told Murray he wants to be a Viking, and the Vikings have also been told that via Murray and/or separately by his agent.
So the ball is fully in the Vikings’ court. The cost to sign Hopkins surely won’t be prohibitive, or more than a one-year deal. The loss of Jalen Nailor in free agency also leaves an obvious void at WR3, and some people are lightly campaigning to fill the void.
Reporter takes opportunity to squash any DeAndre Hopkins-to-the-Minnesota Vikings buzz
On a recent episode of SKOR North’s “Purple Daily”, co-host Phil Mackey used Hopkins’ aforementioned comments to TMZ to ask Darren Wolfson of KSTP if he thinks the Vikings might be interested in signing Hopkins.
“DeAndre Hopkins was at LAX and told TMZ that he’s open to a conversation with the Vikings. Do you think they would ever go in that direction for WR3 DeAndre Hopkins?”
Wolfson laughed before Mackey could even finish, then answered the question.
“I don’t. Not right now, no… no. I mean, I do think they bring in some sort of veteran receiver, but I just wonder if it’s somebody that has some special teams flexibility — like a (Trent) Sherfield type, somebody that maybe isn’t even a designated WR3.”
Special teams flexibility is important for players who aren’t in line for big roles on their respective side of the ball, and it’s often a differentiator when roster decisions are made at the end of the preseason.
But the Vikings may already have that on their wide receiver depth chart with Myles Price and Tai Felton.
While Felton is very interesting and the top current candidate to take Nailor’s place as the Vikings’ WR3, there’s a lot of projection involved with him taking on a bigger offensive role next season.
Hopkins, even past his prime, is a known quantity who has a notable history with Murray.
It’s definitely possible the Vikings have no interest in Hopkins right now, and they may never have interest over the coming months.
But not playing special teams cannot be the top reason they don’t have interest, and Wolfson citing it first and foremost is flimsy at best.