DeAndre Hopkins Wants to Play in Jacksonville, Should the Jaguars Make It Happen?

One Of The League's Best Wants To Join Forces With Trevor Lawrence & Co.

This definitely wasn't something I was expecting to write this week, but nonetheless here we are. Early on Wednesday this week, it was reported by credible sources that DeAndre Hopkins was seeking a trade and had a list of two teams that he wanted to play with. Both of those teams will be facing each other in Jacksonville this Saturday.

There's been mostly two reactions to this news. One has been that we have to do everything possible to bring him here because he's amazing and that we can make the salary cap work. The other reaction has been that we don't need him and don't have the room to afford him because there are other players we need to bring back first.

At first glance, I would call the second reaction the most reasonable because the Jaguars are facing a tough offseason of cap decisions and Hopkins makes top five receiver money, but when a great player wants to be on your team you have to do your homework. Let's break it down, analyze what the Jaguars would need to sacrifice, and how the pros compare to the cons.

Jaguars Would Only Pay A Portion of Hopkins' Contract

If the Cardinals were to retain DeAndre Hopkins for the remainder of his contract, they would be pay him just short of $57M over two years. What we have to understand is that's not the price Jacksonville would be paying for him. When teams decide to trade players, they often have to pay out a portion of that contract in what's called dead money. The team that trades for the player pays for the rest of the contract unless they agree on a new deal to replace it.

If DeAndre Hopkins was traded to Jacksonville, he would be owed $19.5M in 2023 and $14.9M in 2024. That new salary cap hit would average out at $17.2M over the next two years and come out at just $1M under Christian Kirk's average salary. What you also have to consider is that the Jaguars could kick nearly $10M of that salary to 2024 which would make his official salary cap hit for the upcoming season be $10.3M and leave $24.1M to be paid in 2024.

The Jaguars currently find themselves over the salary cap even without Calvin Ridley's fifth-year option being factored in. However, a factor that must be considered is that the Jaguars have multiple options available to kick the cap into 2024 where they have over $80M available to spend. The Jaguars front office will have a route to retaining many of their key players from this season while having some salary cap space available to make a big move. They can also restructure and release players the following offseason if needed.

Jacksonville Holds Many Advantages When Negotiating Hopkins' Trade Value

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Cardinals will not only be at the mercy of DeAndre Hopkins during trade talks, but also the teams negotiating. Hopkins has made it clear that he doesn't want to stick in Arizona and holds an advantage in negotiations because of the no-trade clause in his contract. This requires both the Cardinals and DeAndre Hopkins to agree on the terms of a trade deal for him to be sent away.

This is exactly where Jacksonville and Los Angeles hold the advantage. Both teams already know that Hopkins would approve of their trade offer and they could get away with sending less draft capital than another team that he doesn't want to play for. Jacksonville could further solidify that advantage on Saturday if they're able to defeat Los Angeles in the Wild Card Round. That would set them apart as the better destination especially if the rumors that Brandon Staley could be on the chopping block were true.

The Cardinals would ideally want to argue for a first round pick, but there's realistically no way they would receive that. If you're a team that's negotiating for this trade, you're going to make it clear that there's inherent risk involved. The reality is that DeAndre Hopkins hasn't played a full season each of the last two years and also hasn't reached the 1,000 yard mark either time. He was also suspended for substance abuse this season although it's pretty clear it's a non-issue like Calvin Ridley's reason for suspension.

Jacksonville should look to trade off draft capital from the upcoming draft to prevent having a lack of resources in the upcoming offseason. They'll likely lose their second round pick to the Atlanta Falcons assuming they've hit on Ridley so they should stand pat on their remaining resources. I think the Jaguars could get away with sending a third and fourth rounder to acquire Hopkins, but they may have to exchange that third rounder for a second rounder if talks stalled.

A Final Evaluation Of Jacksonville's Potential Trade For DeAndre Hopkins

If the Jaguars investigated a trade for DeAndre Hopkins this offseason, this is the question I would ask. Is Hopkins worth a backloaded contract valued at $34.4M/2 years and two mid-to-high draft picks? My answer is yes. However, there's a little more to it so bear with me.

What the Jaguars must avoid doing is alienating either Christian Kirk or Zay Jones. If Hopkins was to come to Jacksonville, there's a chance this could offend both players and they would need to discuss this with them beforehand. For Christian Kirk, he's had a breakout year in part to being in an offense where's he the clear top receiver. With Hopkins around, Kirk could see a reduction of targets in this offense.

For Zay Jones, he would be relegated to a rotation role after proving he's a good starting receiver in the NFL. That could change with potential injuries to the receiving corps, but he wouldn't see nearly as many snaps still. Both players have proven this season that they deserve to be featured weapons in an NFL offense and Jacksonville must show loyalty to them if there's a choice to be made.

If both players are on board with the Jaguars acquiring DeAndre Hopkins, I wouldn't hesitate to make that the staple move of the 2023 offseason. Jacksonville would feature what could be one of the most talented receiving corps in NFL history while having a generational quarterback and a creative head coach. That's just filthy and unfair to NFL defenses across the league.

Doug Pederson proved this season that he can get the most out of any player which makes his team a perfect option for a willing DeAndre Hopkins. Making a move like this could officially establish Jacksonville as a destination for NFL players and affirm the culture of success that's been fostered this season.

When that's how your franchise is viewed, players will take less to be a part of something special and provide you a massive advantage over your competition. Jacksonville doesn't have to make this trade for that to happen and I wouldn't be angry if they stuck with the current group, but I believe you can support a logical argument for DeAndre Hopkins being a home run hit in Duval.

Thanks for reading, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments and any suggestions for content you want to see. Make sure to be respectful towards other fans and represent the Jaguars fan base the way it deserves.