The NFL’s latest Friday news dump before a holiday weekend is the perfect indicator that times have changed in New England. 

The Arizona Cardinals released All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, and the New England Patriots are a perfect landing spot for his talents. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick loves Hopkins as a player, New England needs more talent at wide receiver, and there’s a prior history there between the five-time Pro Bowler and new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

Five years ago, a union wouldn’t have just seemed possible, it might even be regarded as likely. The Patriots had major reasons why Hopkins might be willing to take less to play in New England: a legendary head coach, a top-tier quarterback, a chance at a ring and all the gravitas in the world.

Now, realistically, most of that is gone. Why would be Hopkins’ incentive to sign with New England over a team like the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers or Baltimore Ravens?

On a recent appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, free-agent WR DeAndre Hopkins listed the five QBs he’d most like to catch passes from: the Bills’ Josh Allen, the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 26, 2023

The pull of playing for Belichick can only go so far.

There’s also the money factor. The Patriots were obviously unwilling to trade for Hopkins and the $19.45 million salary he was owed from the Cardinals. But Odell Beckham Jr. just signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Hopkins isn’t suddenly going to come cheap.

The Patriots attended Beckham’s league-wide workout but weren’t going to be willing to come close to that type of deal. Head coach Bill Belichick likes a value, and even after getting released, Hopkins should still draw interest from every wide receiver-needy team around the NFL.

The Patriots currently have over $14 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com. They have over $122 million heading into next offseason and the most cap space in the NFL in preparation for 2025. They could sign Hopkins to any backloaded contract or tack on void years to make it all work just fine. They would have to be willing to overbid. And if they did, it would be a sure sign that they believe they can win right now.

Hopkins is a 30-year-old receiver coming off of a PED suspension who hasn’t played a full season since 2020. If a team is signing Hopkins, it’s with the ambition to compete now. The Patriots don’t realistically seem like a team that’s a DeAndre Hopkins away from competing for a Super Bowl, though he would get them much closer to that ultimate goal.

All in all, Hopkins landing in New England is a longshot. Friday’s news made a potential addition more likely, but now he gets to pick his team, and unless the Patriots are willing to be the top bidder, there aren’t many reasons to choose New England over better teams right now.