Knee-Jerk Reactions: Ravens Sign DeAndre Hopkins to 1-Year Deal

The Ravens and free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins agreed to terms on a one-year deal for $5M, which can grow to $6M with incentives.

RSR staff react to the news here.

DeAndre Hopkins Signs with Ravens

Nikhil Mehta

The price is finally right for the Ravens to add DeAndre Hopkins, who had been linked with Baltimore several times over the last few years. He’s no longer the perennial Pro Bowler he once was, but his stint in Kansas City last season showed a solid WR3 who will benefit from a tertiary role in the Ravens’ high-powered offense.

At one year and $5 million, this is a fair price for an aging WR whose best days are clearly behind him. He won’t be asked to eat 100-plus targets in Baltimore, but will bring his solid veteran presence and know-how to a young receiver room.

Most of all, this is a fun move that doesn’t preclude the Ravens from adding more talent at receiver through the draft.

Kevin McNelis

This one felt like it had been coming for a while, and the Ravens had just never been able to sink the putt on it. Nuk Hopkins may not be the weapon he once was, but this team loves veteran leadership with their receiver group, and I’ve got to admit that a starting trio of Zay, Bate, and Nuk is pretty solid.

Based on the current state of the depth chart and the talent level of the receivers in this Draft class, I feel like the Ravens still take a swing for at least one (GIVE ME TAI FELTON!!), but I will say that it doesn’t give me great hopes that Tez Walker is going to get the increase in playing time that we were hoping for.

If the Ravens can get the best out of Hopkins, sign me up in a hurry.

Nick Polinsky

This seems like a very solid price point for DHop. Guys like Tutu Atwell and Josh Palmer are fielding $10-12M a year and the Ravens got Hopkins for half of that.

He provides the one void the Ravens had in their receiver room, a goal line fade guy who can make the contested catch consistently.

It’ll be interesting to see how much Hopkins sees the field because the Ravens have a tendency to play it weird with older wide receivers.

It’s an exciting move off of name value alone, but it’ll be something to watch to see how much he actually contributes to the offense.

Rob Shields

If this was five years ago, you could get really excited about this move. But, DHop turns 33 in June and you have to wonder how much he has left.

He did have a fairly productive 2023 and I expect him to be an upgrade over Agholor. He has also been pretty durable the last two years after only playing 19 games the previous two seasons combined.

His YPC were the lowest of his career in 2024. To be fair, he did catch 41 balls in KC and it’s not easy to be traded to a new team in the middle of the season if you are a WR.

All in all, this is an ok move but I think the excitement over it will be much more than it should be.

Chad Racine

Wide receiver depth is a sneaky need but not the biggest priority the Ravens have. That makes this a tad surprising but it’s not the first time Hopkins has been linked to the Ravens. The value is right and DeCosta will take a good player at any position if he sees it as a good value. I think the writing is on the wall that Andrews is likely gone.

Where will he go, Chargers, Tampa, Jets? Just the feeling I get.

Chris Schisler

The Ravens are the kings of moves that would make me more excited in a previous year. DeAndre Hopkins is still an excellent signing for the Ravens. He had 41 receptions after being added by the Chiefs. Hopkins is just 32 years old, and he’s still a big play threat down the field. It seems like the Ravens have been trying to get Hopkins forever. The Ravens needed to get an answer at the receiver position beyond Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. The best part of this is that the Ravens now have a big three at the wide receiver position and each component complements the other. Flowers is the star defenses don’t want to chase. Bateman is your possession receiver who has great chemistry with the QB. Hopkins is your big play guy and your red zone threat.

This is as exciting as the Ravens have been at wide receiver… maybe ever. When we’re talking about Hopkins we’re talking about a guy who had 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, with a Titans team that struggled at the quarterback position. Hopkins has seen everything the NFL has to offer. He’s been on good teams and bad teams. He has scored a Super Bowl touchdown – though ring chasing with the Chiefs could have gone better for him. This is a good move for the Ravens, a team that keeps coming close but just needs to get over the hump.

This could be part of the getting over the hump process.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/03/11/knee-jerk-reactions/deandre-hopkins-2/