DeAndre Hopkins played with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2025 season, but his impact was next to none. The former superstar receiver ended the year with just 330 yards, with not a single catch in the final two games. The Ravens missed the playoffs after a Week 18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
DeAndre Hopkins Reveals He Was in Talks With the New England Patriots
Hopkins had a one-year, $5 million deal with the Ravens for the 2025 season. Unless he taps into retirement, he’ll be a free agent once again, giving him options to choose his next team. Speaking on the “Up & Adams Show” on Monday, he revealed that the New England Patriots were one of the options for his 2025 season.
“I could’ve been a Patriot this offseason. Vrabel and I, we talked, but it was just a situation that I felt going to Baltimore, playing with Derrick [Henry], playing with Lamar [Jackson], was a situation, and especially myself after Kansas City; I don’t regret it. Great times, in Baltimore I played with some friends, but obviously we didn’t get it done,” Hopkins said.
“But Belichick and I also had a meeting before I went to Tennessee, and I think Bill knew I was not signing with him; he just wanted to bring me into his office and talk football,” he added.
Here’s how close DeAndre Hopkins was to being a Patriot this season 👀@DeAndreHopkins | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/bkguQ0fn5l
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 26, 2026
The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach in 2025, and the results couldn’t have been better. He instantly took a 4-13 team to the Super Bowl, winning the AFC while developing Drake Maye into one of the best quarterbacks of the conference. They had a 14-3 record, giving them the first playoff berth since 2021 and their first Super Bowl berth since 2018, and ranking second in PFSN’s NFL OFFi metrics.
Hopkins and Vrabel worked together multiple times. The pair overlapped during Hopkins’ prime, when Vrabel was an assistant coach for the Houston Texans. Although they didn’t exactly work together, Vrabel had to prepare against him in practice, and this surely helped his development as a coach.
In 2023, the situation changed. Hopkins was free on the market following his time with the Arizona Cardinals. After a long period of analyzing his options, he joined forces with Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans. But the partnership didn’t last long, as Vrabel was fired from Tennessee midway through that season.
Hopkins could still join the Patriots in 2026, but his impact is unlikely to be big. He’s far from his prime, and he hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season in two years. Retirement is also a possibility, and if he decides to hang up the cleats, he will surely be remembered as one of the best of the century.
