


The Arizona Cardinals announced last month that they’d be releasing pro-bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins after three seasons, meaning he’s now free to sign with any team of his choice.
Vegas oddsmakers have set a betting market for Hopkins’ next team.
Let’s dive into where the sportsbooks believe Hopkins will land next.
Odds via DraftKings.
The New England Patriots are the betting favorites to land Hopkins, sitting at +100 in the betting markets.
This line implies Vegas believes there’s precisely a 50% chance Hopkins ends up in New England.
The Patriots desperately need a wide receiver.
Plus, new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien coached Hopkins in Houston.
On paper, it’s a perfect fit.
However, the rumor mill is the primary reason the Patriots are the favorites.
Hopkins visited the Patriots last week, which supposedly went very well.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler spoke on SportsCenter last Sunday morning, saying (per Adam London of NESN):
“The Patriots feel they’re in a pretty good spot. They had a really productive visit with Hopkins on Thursday. He showed up early in the morning and was there late into the afternoon, spent part of the night in New England. Spent significant time in the building with Bill Belichick. I’m told there’s significant mutual respect between Hopkins, the player, and the Hall of Fame coach in Belichick. They’re hopeful, certainly.”
The media hype has created this betting market, and the Patriots are the favorites.
The Buffalo Bills are the second betting favorite to land Hopkins, sitting with +350 odds.
While Buffalo feels like an obvious landing spot, given Josh Allen is an MVP candidate and the Bills are a contender, I’d consider it very doubtful that the Bills sign Hopkins.
Buffalo only has about $5 million in cap room, not enough to land Hopkins.
And the Bills haven’t even hosted Hopkins for a visit.
The other team that did host Hopkins for a visit was Tennessee, which has the third-shortest betting odds to land Hopkins at +400.
Reportedly, Hopkins’ visit with the Titans also went very well – except for one minor detail.
When you’re trying to land a superstar, every minor detail matters.
The last team with odds shorter than 10-1 to land Hopkins is Detroit, with +500 odds.
The Lions’ high-flying attack would benefit from Hopkins’ skillset, and vice versa.
More importantly, however, the Lions have jumped up the odds board since the market opened.
Per W.G. Brady of Detroit Sports Nation, they were listed with +1100 odds in early June and were as short as +380 at one point.
The Jets have the 11th-shortest odds to land Hopkins, with +3000.
An Aaron Rodgers-Hopkins connection sounds fun, but I’d be very doubtful a deal gets done.
Meanwhile, the Giants have the fourth-longest odds to land Hopkins, with +9000.
The Giants have only $3 million in cap space, and I’m doubtful Hopkins wants to catch passes from Daniel Jones (no offense, Giants fans).