Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TENNESSEE TITANS SIGNING DEANDRE HOPKINS, Contract Details & Titans Super Bowl Chances LIVE!!

Episode Date: July 16, 2023

The Tennessee Titans are signing DeAndre Hopkins according to reports and it is an incredible day for the Titans. Hopkins is the perfect fit for what the Titans need and at the price the Titans were able to sign him at, there are no downsides. Tyler goes over the contract details according to the reports. Finally, can Hopkins break the Titans WR curse??Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans are signing DeAndre Hopkins. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. That's right, the Tennessee Titans will be signing DeAndre Hopkins. Ladies and gentlemen, DeHop on the way. We're going to dive into all of the latest news. Going to talk DeAndre Hopkins contract details. Going to talk about what this means

for the Tennessee Titans as a team this year. Also going to talk about DeAndre Hopkins breaking the Titans wide receiver curse. There is so much to dive into on today's show. Do want to let you guys know that it is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

Remember Monday through Friday, daily Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed and stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Let me know down below in the comments if you are an everydayer. Tune in to the show Monday through Friday. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you are hyped that the Tennessee Titans signed DeAndre Hopkins. What an incredible day, man. I'm really getting used to these big moves that the Titans are pulling late into the

summer, but Mike Vrabel told us all along. Mike Vrabel trolled Titans fans and waved at the camera during the draft. After the draft, he said, hey, is free agency over? I think we can still sign guys, right? Well, credit to Mike Vrabel. He saw the vision all along and the Titans will bring in DeAndre Hopkins. Credit to Doug Keed from A to Z Sports who broke the news first. Just incredible stuff here for the Titans. Exactly what the Titans needed. The Titans would not have been able to realistically compete for a Super Bowl, realistically expect to go far in the playoffs this year unless they made this move.

This was the one area on the team at wide receiver where the Titans simply were not good enough. And that's why this move right here, adding DeAndre Hopkins to this roster with Derrick Henry, with Ryan Tannehill, with hopefully an improved offensive line. This slots Traylon Burks in such a great spot. This slots Chigakonkwo in such a great spot for what they're going to be asked to do within this offense. And of course, you have the Tim Kelly connection who was in that Texans offense when DeAndre Hopkins was being selected to all pros when he was having his best seasons.

And obviously the Mike Vrabel factor. I mentioned Mike Vrabel before. The Mike Vrabel factor had to be huge here with Hopkins. The reporting has already come out that Hopkins was texting Vrabel before. The Mike Vrabel factor had to be huge here with Hopkins. The reporting has already come out that Hopkins was texting Vrabel directly during his Patriots visit. That right there. And Mike Vrabel was joking in the press conferences a couple months ago saying he was done recruiting. This isn't college.

Yeah, right. Mike Vrabel put on a full court press to get DeAndre Hopkins to Tennessee. What an incredible move for the Titans. And let's talk about the contract details because after the raw excitement of signing DeAndre Hopkins wears off, you start to think about what does this mean financially for the Titans. Well, folks, for what DeAndre Hopkins is going to be able to provide

on the football field, the Titans are getting an incredible value. So here are the contract terms right here. Throwing them up on the screen. Ian Rappaport dropped those. Two years, $26 million,

up to $32 million in incentives. DeAndre Hopkins is going to get $12 million in year one with a chance to get up to $15 million. So you are telling me that even if, even if DeAndre Hopkins, even if DeAndre Hopkins hits all of his incentives, which would be an incredible thing for the Titans, they're only going to have to pay him $15 million. I mean, at max, you're looking at $16 million per season for the next two years.

Do you know where that ranks amongst wide receivers? 16 million. Let's do 15 million because Hopkins is getting 15 million dollars maximum in year one. You know who is going to make more money than DeAndre Hopkins? Robinson, Hunter Renfro, Deontay Johnson, Brandon Cooks even. These are guys that are going to be making more money than DeAndre Hopkins. You know who is directly above DeAndre Hopkins in average annual value of their contract? Corey Davis.

Everybody wanted Corey Davis all offseason long. The Titans just got DeAndre Hopkins for Corey Davis money. DeAndre Hopkins for two years for Corey Davis money. Ran. Ran Carthon. Mike Vrabel. I mean, hats off. You got to write.

I mean, I want to see hats off to Rancarthon in the chat hats off to Rancarthon to thread the needle in this way I complained all offseason and I said hey if you try to walk down two paths you'll walk down the wrong one right I've been barking that all offseason that the Titans tried to have their cake and eat it too.

They tried to give some veteran help to Tannehill and Henry while also having an eye towards the future and drafting Levis and Spears. They've done it. They have done it. An A+. A+. First offseason on paper for Rancarthon.

Of course, we're going to have to wait a few years to evaluate all these moves to know how they actually worked out. But on paper, on paper, if I told you we're adding Andre Dillard, they're going to add Peter Skowronski in the first round at 11. They're going to add a linebacker. They're going to add depth at cornerback. They're going to add depth at cornerback. They're going to add DeAndre Hopkins. Guys, you all know,

my everydayers who listen to the show all the time, they know I am a pessimistic person. I'm a cynical person. I criticize the team quite a bit. I just try to be fair. There is no room for me to criticize this right here. To get DeAndre Hopkins for Corey Davis money when the entire fan base would have been fine

with having Corey Davis is absolutely immaculate. Hats off to Rancar Thon. Hats off to Mike Vrabel. The Tennessee Titans are a true contender in the AFC once again. That's how big this move is. I'm going to talk about what this means for the Tennessee Titans' ceiling as a team, what this means for their win total in just a moment. Also, at the end of the show, we're just going to have a fan-to-fan discussion

about breaking this wide receiver curse. Ladies and gentlemen, what a great, great day to be a Tennessee Titan. Throw some Titan ups in the chat right now. We're partying on this Sunday night, Titans fans, as we head towards training camp. But before we get into the rest of today's show, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. show. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available.

That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. All you get to do or all you have to do is create a free job post on LinkedIn Jobs. Then you add your job in the purple hashtag hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile and they're going to spread the word that you're hiring. They also have simple tools like screening questions that make it really easy to focus on the right candidates with the right skills and experience so you can quickly prioritize who you'd like to interview and hire.

It's why small businesses write LinkedIn Jobs No. 1 in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Titans fans, we are partying tonight. The Tennessee Titans have signed DeAndre Hopkins.

What an incredible moment. This is so big. I mean, there have been moves that the Titans have made in the past, but with the issue that was the wide receiver group to add this, I mean, it is just crazy. And yeah, a shout out to Jibo Hedges in the chat saying, D-Hop Oilers jersey. Uh-oh. It's so funny. I saw people joking online last week that the Titans are waiting to announce the DeAndre Hopkins signing

so that they can debut the Oilers jerseys with Hopkins involved. I don't think that they're going to have time to do that because they shoot all those promos and stuff like that way in advance. But it is just absolutely phenomenal that they're signing Hopkins and then those jerseys are getting previewed in a week and then training camp is kicking off.

I mean, woo! Man, these are the moments where being a Titans fan is just the best, man. It's the absolute best. Shout out to all you guys in the chat. Thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long, every day, all apps, and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed.

Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. It's your team every day. For those of you who don't know, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic. I'm a staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com and certified film junkie breaking down the X's and O's with you guys every single day. But now I want to talk about what this means for the Tennessee Titans win total, what this means for their ceiling as a team. And I talked about it to start.

I hinted at it to start. But guys, here's the reality. The Titans now are good enough to win the division. I mean, you can say what you want. I like Jacksonville. I know a lot of Titans fans are really skeptical. I think Jacksonville has a good team. But the Tennessee Titans, when healthy, are better.

If the Titans have league-leading injuries again, and they put 91 players on the roster and 34 guys on IR and all that, it's going to be tough no matter what. But the Titans have the talent right now if they have a modicum, just a modicum, a sliver of health this year, league average health. If the Titans have a league average health, I think they are the best team in the division. I think the Titans will win the AFC South. I think the Titans will have 11 wins. And I think the Titans get into the tournament. And I thought about this last week. And I wanted to

tweet it out, but I don't want to be too spicy, but after this Hopkins signing, and we know that he's coming, this is how I feel. Tell me in the chat if I'm crazy. If you woke up on a Sunday morning in January 2024

and the Tennessee Titans had just beaten the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, would you be shocked? If I told you that was the case, would you be shocked? I think Cincinnati and Kansas City are a different mountain to climb. I really do.

But I absolutely think, other than Cincinnati and other than Kansas City, the Titans, as they stand, can be anybody. The Titans can be anybody in the AFC. Now, Burrow and Mahomes, again, that's a whole different beast. I think the Titans would need some good fortune to realistically think about that. But with the talent the Titans have now, there is no way that outside of Cincinnati and

outside of Kansas City, I would be absolutely floored if the Titans were to beat a team from the AFC in the playoffs. Like, I just don't think it's crazy. I don't. So, hey, you guys can call me crazy if you want, but

that's how I feel. And you know what? I agree. I see know what? I agree. I see some, bring it on. See, here's my thing. This is why I'm so excited now, because before the Titans did not have the requisite talent. You looked at the roster and what they had at wide receiver. And here's the thing.

It's a domino effect, right? It's not just that the Titans didn't have enough talent at wide receiver. It's how that impacts everything else. Now the wide receivers don't get open quick enough. The offensive line has to block just that much more. Now defenses aren't as worried about the passing game and they can creep up on Derrick Henry just that much more. Ryan Tannehill is a see it and stick it in quarterback, okay? You guys know what I'm saying here, all right? But Ryan Tannehill isn't a guy who throws the ball with incredible touch all the time or incredible anticipation all the time. Tannehill wants to see it and throw it in there with velocity.

And that only works if people are getting open. Now the play-action pass and Derrick Henry's threat and obviously offensive coordination can all help you with that. But the impact that not having the correct wide receivers on this team, not having two NFL-level outside wide receivers, not having that on this roster ruins it. The Titans aren't one of these teams that needs three amazing wide receivers. They having that on this roster ruins it. The Titans aren't one of these teams that needs three amazing wide receivers. They simply don't. Remember when the Titans were at

their best. It was Corey Davis. It was A.J. Brown and then Adam Humphreys a little bit here and there. They mixed in a couple of other guys here and there. The Titans need two really good boundary wide receivers so they can run that play action pass where you have one guy going deep and threatening the safety down the field. You have another guy going across the intermediate area of the field and Tannehill is either at the safety comes up, Tannehill is going to take the shot over top. If the safety stays up, then he's going to have the guy over the middle.

So that's where the Titans offense succeeds the best. Okay, that's where the Titans offense operates. They need two good wide receivers. And the fact that they didn't have anywhere even close to that coming into training camp, going through the portion of the off seasons that we just went through, to have that now and not only have it, not only have it, not only have it, but now you add an all pro level guy.

You add an all pro level talent there. This takes the Titans ceiling, in my opinion, from 10 wins, 11 wins to 13 wins. I think that they will probably get 11, 12 wins is where I'm going to project the Titans now. Once I redo my predictions as we get closer to the season. But this is just huge. It's not just adding Hopkins. It's that you're adding Hopkins to the area

that was the weakest on your roster when the rest of the roster was generally pretty solid. The Titans' offensive line, in my opinion, now becomes the biggest question. The suspension of Nicholas Petit Ferrer obviously factors into that, makes you a little more concerned. I think that now that Hopkins is added, the Titans have to add more veterans.

There needs to be at least one or two more veterans added. I think on the defensive line or at edge, I think on the offensive line, at offensive tackle, I would still like to see George Fant added to this team. But now that the Titans have added DeAndre Hopkins, they can realistically tell themselves, hey, we can go for it now. Last year, the contract with Henry.

Last year, the contract with Ryan Tannehill. We get a legitimate last dance, guys. We get a real one. All right? Still curious to see the layout of the contract entirely, like base salary with bonus, void years, how the Titans do that. I've said all along that I think it's going to be a two-year contract with two extra void years.

So a four-year contract in total, but realistically a two-year one with void years at the end, two of them that spread out the bonus for the Titans. I think Hopkins cap hit this year will be about three to five million dollars when we sit down and actually get the, we know it's two years for 26 with 32 million possible, but the actual structure of it, that's what I want to see. But man, you have Derrick Henry, you have a perfect compliment to Derrick Henry out of the backfield with Tajay Spears. Then you have Chigaconquo as your explosive move tight end

with Wesco in the traditional Jeff Swain role as a value role player. And then you add Josh Wiley, who I think has the potential to really be a red zone threat and a matchup threat split out as a tight end. You add Traylon Burks. Kyle Phillips can now slot perfectly in the slot. That's funny how that works. Now, Nick Westbrook-Akene and Chris Moore

are properly slotted as your fourth and fifth wide receiver with Hopkins and Burks as your number ones. I mean, again, Traylon Burks, play action to Derrick Henry. Burks going deep and threatening a single high safety. Hopkins running the intermediate crossing route. Ah! My God!

It's beautiful, folks. It is absolutely beautiful. We're going to continue talking about this, and I just want to fan to fan with you guys, talk about the Tennessee Titans wide receiver curve. So we're going to dive into that in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off this emergency edition of the Locked on Titans podcast talking about the DeAndre Hopkins signing.

We talked about Hopkins. We talked about the contract numbers to start. Then we talked about how it impacts the rest of the Titans offense, how it impacts their ceiling as a team for the year, where I could see them ending up again. I could see the Titans being in the conference championship, getting to the divisional round of the playoffs after this move now.

And once you get into the tournament, who knows what could happen with a little bit of luck factored in as well. But the point remains, the Tennessee Titans have done enough to consider themselves a serious contender at this moment in time. But we all have to talk. I've been all positive all show long. You guys are out there. You know I've been all positive, all show long, all excitement.

But we have to at least acknowledge the concern. All right, let's acknowledge the concern for a moment. Can Hopkins break the Titans wide receiver curse? Before I get into that, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps

and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network where it's your team every day. The rest of this week, I'm going to have more DeAndre Hopkins content coming for you guys.

I'm going to do a film study deep dive episode where we talk about the routes and situations that we want to see Hopkins put in with Tim Kelly as the offensive coordinator. Also, we got to cap off our training camp preview series where we look at each position. I did the entire offense, the front seven on defense already. We got to talk about the secondary this week as well.

Going to have a 53-man roster prediction coming out soon before training camp kicks off, and then training camp kicks off in six days. I mean, my lord. Make sure, again, you get subscribed, stay subscribed for daily, free Tennessee Titans content all year round. But Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Julio Jones. The curse is real, folks. We have to acknowledge it.

The Titans got A.J. Brown and traded him away. This franchise has been absolutely cursed. There's no way to say it. All right, so with that in mind, can Hopkins beat the curse? I'm just going to keep the optimism rolling. Absolutely, he can. And let me tell you what's different here.

Especially, you know, Andre Johnson and Randy Moss, they were really, really out of their prime. Really out of their prime. Julio Jones, that was up and down. And look, I'll still say, I still think that the Julio trade was a move that John Robinson should have made. It was a necessary risk, and Julio did have 60 yards in the playoff game against the Bengals and kind of did his part.

Nobody wants to talk about that. But anyways, let me tell you why this Hopkins situation is different. Number one, Hopkins is going to be playing with the offensive coordinator that was a part of the offensive staff in Houston for all of his best years. Tim Kelly was there. Tim Kelly saw it. Tim Kelly knows how Hopkins succeeds. He knows where he wants the ball in his hands. He knows what routes he succeeds on the most. He knows exactly what to do with DeAndre Hopkins. So that is one reason why Hopkins is going to break the curse.

Not only that, That is one reason why Hopkins is going to break the curse. Not only that, but the situation that the Titans are in is nowhere near like they were in with Julio. The Titans had to restructure a bunch of deals. The Titans didn't have cap space in the near future. The Titans are going to have nearly $80 to $100 million in cap space next year. They're going to pay, what, $13 to $16 million for Hopkins?

How is that not worth it? I mean, how is that not worth it? I mean, and then the year after that in 2025, the Titans are likely to have $80 to $100 million in cap space again. So even if they have void years and they have to eat some dead money for Hopkins, in year three, they're going to have so much cap space it doesn't matter so basically the downside of this DeAndre Hopkins move

is going to be nowhere near as penalizing as the downside of the Julio Jones move so that in itself frames the situation in a totally different light that makes it totally different than Julio, who John Robinson really put his neck out there to make the Julio Jones move. That's not what this is. This is a low risk. This is a super low risk move that has high reward potential. If Hopkins, I got to pull it up

just to be a hundred percent accurate. Okay. Hopkins yards per game last year. I know that he didn't play the entire season. He was suspended for six games, but Hopkins averaged 80 yards per game, 79 yards per game. That's not that far off of some of his better seasons in the NFL. Hopkins averaged 75 yards a game in a second season and finished with 1,200 yards. 75 yards a game is 1,200 yards. If Hopkins got 75 yards a game and got 1,200 yards this year,

we would throw a parade. Hopkins got 75 yards a game and got 1,200 yards this year, we would throw a parade. So it's not like when he played last year, he was bad. He had a great average and was on pace to go over 1,000 yards. If he even played a couple more games, there was 717 total yards on the season. It was the year before that Hopkins was banged up and didn't play very well. So

I'm just saying, I think that Hopkins is going to be fine. I think that now having Hopkins in a situation where it's low risk, financially low risk for the Titans to do this. Hopkins is with a coach that he knows and trusts that knows him. He's in a last dance situation where the Titans are going all out. He still had a great yards per game average last year in the games that he played. Hopkins will break the curse. And listen, the Titans don't need some crazy output for multiple seasons for him to break the curse. And listen, the Titans don't need some crazy output for multiple seasons for him to break the curse.

The Titans simply need Hopkins to have 800, 900, 1,000 yards. And I think all of us will be pretty happy with how things play out. So, as long as he has a little bit of health, baby, the Titans are going to be in here. But what an absolute great day for the Titans. What a great day for Titans fans.

They did it. They made the big move. Hopkins is here. It changes the way that we can look at the Titans team. I know some of you guys who are some of the more optimistic in the fan base thought the Titans were in a great spot all along. For me, if you told me yesterday the Titans could win the Super Bowl, I would have just laughed. If you told me today that the Titans could win the Super Bowl, I would have just laughed.

If you told me today that the Titans could win the Super Bowl, I would say, I'm not saying it's likely, but my heart, my heart can at least believe it. My heart can at least believe it. So, just exactly what we needed heading into training camp. Again, a fantastic day for Tennessee Titans fans everywhere, for the team, for the players.

Jeffrey Simmons was tweeting at DeAndre Hopkins. This is exactly what the team needed, man. What an incredible day. Again, thanks for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen. Monday through Friday, daily Tennessee Titans content all year round. Always for free on all apps, including the Locked on Titans YouTube

channel. Get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Tomorrow, more DeAndre Hopkins reaction. I'm going to dive into the film sometime later on this week. We'll have a film episode. We're going to break down the cornerbacks. I'm going to dive into the film sometime later on this week. We'll have a film episode. We're going to break down the cornerbacks.

We're going to break down the safeties as well this week. So, so much content coming your way as we head forward to training camp. Follow me at TicTacTitans on Twitter. Check out AllTitans.com for my writing over at Sports Illustrated. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titan.