They want Watson to be a good recruiter when the opportunity presents itself, and their prior moves this offseason say they didn’t think last year’s receiving corps gave Watson the chance to truly excel.
The Browns want to be looked at as the kind of team that can compete with the likes of the Chiefs and Bills late in the season. Certainly, nobody was giving up a draft pick and paying that salary. Hopkins was due $19.45 million in 2023, and nobody was paying that for a player who turns 31 next week and has missed 15 games over the last two seasons, six due to a PED suspension last year. There were multiple reasons a trade didn’t happen - most of them financial - and last week, the Cardinals decided to release Hopkins and take the entire cap hit in 2023. SI.com reported that the Chiefs and Bills had been granted permission by the Cardinals to talk with Hopkins while the Cardinals explored a trade. On this digital paper and in the grand scheme of a Watson-led offense that’s still much more in the tinkering stages than anything that would be considered refined, the Browns and Hopkins make for an interesting match.īut can Hopkins still play at a high level for a period of four (or almost six) months? And how much are the Browns willing to pay to find out? That’s where things get complicated, and the Browns’ decision on whether to involve themselves in a potential pursuit of Hopkins is certainly complicated. With Hopkins, the Browns could further expand the strike zone for Watson with a player the quarterback trusts and eventually expand head coach and play caller Kevin Stefanski’s list of options for creating matchups and opportunities in the passing game. Deshaun Watson would 'love' to have former teammate DeAndre Hopkins join him in ClevelandĮvery potential playoff roadmap for the Browns includes Watson playing with a certain level of efficiency, confidence and accuracy.
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