Chiefs finally land DeAndre Hopkins via Titans trade after years of rumored interest

While it took a rather circuitous route and a bit more time than some would have liked, the Kansas City Chiefs finally found a way to make good on their rumored interest in DeAndre Hopkins with a trade for the Tennessee Titans receiver.

On Wednesday morning, news broke via NFL reporter Ian Rapoport that the Chiefs have acquired Hopkins from the Titans in exchange for a fifth round draft choice in the 2025 NFL Draft that could potentially be switched to a fourth-round choice per conditions that weren't made known at press time.

The Chiefs have finally landed some wide receiver help with the trade for DeAndre Hopkins

For the Chiefs, the Hopkins trade is the deal that every fan has been waiting for after watching various players succumb to injuries time and again early in the 2024 campaign. While the Chiefs themselves are rolling in a historic season, the offense has looked cursed at times with long-term injuries to important skill position players.

The Chiefs have already lost Hollywood Brown for the full season after he played a single offensive snap in the preseason. Then came the loss of Rashee Rice in Week 4 in a fluke play involving Patrick Mahomes trying to tackle a Chargers defensive back who was returning an interception.

With the loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster to a hamstring injury in Week 8 (he's already been declared out for the upcoming game against the Raiders), the Chiefs had to make a move in the face of so many losses.

As for Hopkins, he was stuck on a pitiful Titans team with a single win on the season and a clear spot in the divisional basement of the AFC South. Now he joins the NFL's only unbeaten team chasing a third Super Bowl title in a row—quite a jolt in terms of organizational success and culture.

The Chiefs have a long track record of wanting Hopkins on the team that stretches back nearly two years. The Chiefs were listed as the favorites to land Hopkins in a trade when the Arizona Cardinals were considering such a move. In the end, Hopkins was never dealt but eventually released before the 2023 season when the Chiefs also expressed further interest.

In the end, it was the Titans who were able to lure him in by being willing to pay more than the Chiefs would or could at the time. Hopkins landed a two-year deal with Tennessee back in the spring of 2023 for two years and $26 million.

Hopkins has 15 catches for 173 yards for the Titans this season in six games. Last season for Tennessee, he had 75 catches for 1,075 yards and 7 touchdowns.