DeAndre Hopkins confirms suspicion surrounding the end of his Tennessee Titans career before trade to the Kansas City Chiefs
The Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is just around the corner, but with all of the spotlight elsewhere the Tennessee Titans still found a way to make headlines. Former Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was asked about the end of his time in Tennessee and finally confirmed the suspicions […]
The Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is just around the corner, but with all of the spotlight elsewhere the Tennessee Titans still found a way to make headlines. Former Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was asked about the end of his time in Tennessee and finally confirmed the suspicions many fans had months ago.
Hopkins explained that he was not benched, but instead chose to take himself out of the game versus the Bills last October. He went on to share exactly how his trade went down, thanking Nashville and the staff that moved him to the Chiefs. If they hadn't? He wouldn't be playing in the 2025 Super Bowl this week.
"It meant a lot for the Titans to trade me to the Chiefs. I thank Mrs. Amy [Adams Strunk] (controlling owner of the Titans) and Ran [Carthon] (former Titans general manager) and his crew for allowing this to happen. Without them I wouldn't be in this situation. So I've got to give Nashville and Miss Amy a lot of thanks."
Despite putting up one of the most impressive wide receiver careers in NFL history DeAndre Hopkins has never come close to making it to a Super Bowl before. In fact, throughout his 12-year career he had only participated in six playoff games prior to this season. Now he'll get a chance to chase a Super Bowl with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, thanks to the Titans.
Hopkins continued, opening up about how things actually went down in the Bills game as opposed to what was shared initially following his confusing absence for much of the game:
"When we lost to the Bills there was a lot of stuff in the media saying that I got benched. And I'm not the type to go on social media and speak my truth because I feel like everything kind of always passes. But 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.' We weren't winning. No plays were being called for me. Not that I'm a player that ever needs the ball, but I feel that I want to be included in something. So I took myself out of the game.
DeAndre Hopkins did look completely distraught and defeated following the Bills game. There was discussion of soreness (perhaps an injury?). There were vague responses about players just "being told what do to", but no clarity as to what really happened at the time. It's good for Titans fans to finally get some clarity.
And it wasn't as simple as Hopkins just deciding to take himself out of the game. Like he said, it was as if the Titans weren't even calling plays for him. It was quite the strange situation. So, Hopkins did the only thing he felt he could by talking with then Titans general manager Ran Carthon:
"I saw a lot of things in the media saying that I got benched, and I let it go. The next day I went in Ran's office and I was like, 'Man, I'm almost losing love for this game being in this situation. And I could talk to Ran because he understands me and he was like, "Man, I see it in your eyes. I see that this isn't a place where you might want to be.' We had a tough conversation and then the next day I got traded to the Chiefs."
It's sad for one of the greatest wide receivers in the game to "lose love for this game" because of how poorly the Titans were performing and, from his point of view, were excluding him from the offensive game plan. However, it's great to see DeAndre Hopkins finally get a chance to play for a championship.
12 years, nearly 14,000 yards (including playoffs), and more than 80 touchdowns later DeAndre Hopkins will finally compete for a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles this coming weekend. Good luck, Nuk.
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