The NFL free agent calendar is a little confusing in that it doesn’t technically begin until Wednesday, March 12, despite news of players changing teams breaking all over the place for 48 hours prior.
But though the deals announced on Tuesday aren’t technically done yet, they are all but set in stone once the respected reporters around the league begin putting their bylines and social media handles next to the relevant news. Some extremely relevant free agency news involving the Kansas City Chiefs came down early Tuesday evening, and it doesn’t bode well for the team’s offense.
It was specifically unfortunate for star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who suffered from a lack of weapons in the passing game last year and is on the cusp of losing one of his top targets to a chief AFC rival.
“Sources: Five-time Pro-Bowl WR DeAndre Hopkins reached agreement today on a one-year, $5 million deal that could get up to $6 million with the Baltimore Ravens,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported via an X post.
Hopkins came over to Kansas City from the Tennessee Titans ahead of last season’s trade deadline and played just 10 regular season games with the Chiefs. However, he tallied 41 catches for 437 yards and 4 touchdowns over that span.
Extrapolated out over an entire season, Hopkins’ 2024 pace projects to 70 receptions for 743 yards and 7 scores. While those aren’t the kind of numbers the 32-year-old wideout put up when he was making Pro Bowls on the regular, they still represent solid production and would have seen Hopkins finish first on the roster in receiving touchdowns. Those stats would have also put him second on the team in catches and receiving yards behind only Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Kelce is coming back for his 13th NFL season, though he is in his mid-30s and contemplated retirement after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last month. Losing Hopkins will make Kelce’s job significantly harder, as opposing defenses will key on him even more if Mahomes doesn’t have legitimate targets on the outside.
Rookie Xavier Worthy is the bright spot for the future on the roster, while Rashee Rice will return in 2025 from an injury and off-field legal issues that plagued his second NFL campaign.
Given the limitations of the passing game last year as well as the loss of Hopkins to the Ravens, the Chiefs will need to find meaningful pass-catching production somewhere this offseason — either in free agency, the draft or via trade — lest Mahomes again be forced to make due with less skill position talent than most of his top rivals around the league.
