After failing to make it back to the AFC Championship Game in 2024, the Baltimore Ravens entered this offseason only a few moves away from turning their team into legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
However, while other teams were frivolously spending money and making blockbuster deals, the Ravens took a more reserved approach. In total, they signed just five free agents while watching 11 players from their 2024 roster sign elsewhere and seven more remain unsigned at this point in the offseason.
By far the biggest name to join the Ravens this offseason is wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but Yardbarker’s Seth Trachtman recently listed the signing in his list of 32 head-scratching transactions made since the Super Bowl.
“There’s something to be said for veteran leadership, but it’s unclear if Hopkins makes the Ravens better on the field,” Trachtman wrote. “The likely future Hall of Famer clearly lost a step last season with the Titans and Chiefs, finishing with only 610 yards receiving, and could be in for continued decline as he approaches his mid-30s.”
Hopkins, 32, was originally a first-round pick (No. 27 overall) of the Houston Texans in the 2013 NFL draft following a collegiate career at Clemson that saw him earn All-ACC and All-American honors in his final season with the Tigers.
In his 12 NFL seasons, Hopkins spent time with the Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs, catching 984 passes for 12,965 yards and 83 touchdowns while making five All-Pro teams and five Pro Bowls.
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Last year, Hopkins started with the Titans and was traded to the Chiefs in the middle of the season. He played 47.2% of the offensive snaps between both teams and appeared in 16 games, catching 56 passes for 610 yards and five scores.
Pro Football Focus gave Hopkins a 78.6 overall grade for his performance in 2024, ranking him 23rd out of 98 qualified wide receivers last season.
Entering his 13th season, Hopkins isn’t the same player that he once was, but he could still play a decent role in a wide receiver room that also includes Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers. If any of those three can open things up for each other or tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, things could be even easier for two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
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