Before the October trade that sent him to the Kansas City Chiefs, former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins nearly lost his love for the game of football as a member of the Tennessee Titans.
Now, thanks to that trade, and former Titans general manager Ran Carthon helping make it happen, Hopkins is in a much better situation as he gets set to play in the first Super Bowl of his 12-year NFL career.
Ahead of Super Bowl LIX between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in New Orleans, Hopkins opened up about what led to him getting traded from the Titans to the Chiefs.
Hopkins recalled taking himself out of the Titans’ 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 20, which dropped Tennessee’s record to 1-5. There was talk at the time that Hopkins might’ve gotten benched, but he set the record straight on that this week and spoke about how he almost lost “love for this game” before the trade.
“I didn’t get benched. That’s the first time in my career where I was like, ‘Man, I don’t belong out here on this field right now,’” Hopkins said on Monday at Super Bowl Opening Night, via KSHB 41 News (Kansas City). “We weren’t winning. No plays were being called for me. Not that I’m a player that ever needs the ball, but if I’m on the field, I want to be included in something. So I took myself out of the game.
“I saw a lot of things in the media saying I got benched, and I let it go. But the next day I went to Ran’s office and I was like, ‘Man, I’m almost losing love for this game being in this situation.’ I could talk to Ran like that because Ran, he understands me. He was like, ‘Man, I see it in your eyes. I see that this isn’t the place where you might want to be.’ We had that tough conversation, and the next day I got traded to the Chiefs.”
The Titans dealt the five-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler to the Chiefs in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick. Since being shipped to Kansas City, Hopkins has recorded 42 receptions for 448 yards and four touchdowns across 10 regular season games and two playoff games. Prior to the trade, he posted 15 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown in six games with the Titans this season.
The former 2013 first-round pick of the Houston Texans has amassed 984 receptions for 12,965 yards and 83 touchdowns during his Hall of Fame-caliber career with the Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Titans and Chiefs.
This season is the first time since the 2019 season that Hopkins has even been in the playoffs. And after playing in his first-ever conference championship game on Jan. 26 against the Bills, the 32-year-old will finally get to check off a long-awaited career milestone when he plays in his first Super Bowl on Sunday (6:30 p.m., FOX) in hopes of adding a championship ring to his already decorated resume.
“It meant a lot for the Titans to trade me to the Chiefs,” Hopkins said. “I gotta thank (owner) Miss Amy (Adams Strunk) and Ran and his crew for allowing this to happen. Because without them, I wouldn’t be in this situation. So I’ve got to give Nashville and Miss Amy a lot of thanks.”
