Cryptic tweet sparks DeAndre Hopkins, New England Patriots speculation

New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon posted a cryptic tweet Saturday amid the franchise’s pursuit of free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

GM of the year?

— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) June 17, 2023

“GM of the year?” Judon tweeted without further explanation.

Judon’s tweet sparked discussion that Hopkins may be closing in on a deal with the six-time Super Bowl champions, whom he visited Thursday. Judon, who has tweeted about Hopkins multiple times this offseason, took a photo with the 31-year-old during his visit. Hopkins later posted the photo to his Instagram Story with the caption, “La familia.”

Judon declined to talk about Hopkins in-length while speaking with the media Tuesday.

“Come on, guys. If DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent, if I know him as a friend or as a confidant, it doesn’t matter,” Judon said, via Boston.com. “He’s a great player. He did amazing things, and wherever he lands, he lands. If it’s here, it’s here, and then we can talk about him.”

Though it appears the visit went well, Hopkins is in no rush to make a deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

“It’s been a flat market. It doesn’t sound like he’s in any rush to [sign] a deal,” Schefter said on “NFL Live” Wednesday. “You don’t have to sign in the middle of June when you can wait until right before training camp. For all we know, some team suffers an injury, some team loses a receiver, the dynamics change and shift, and there could be more leverage at some point in time for DeAndre Hopkins.

“So he can listen to Tennessee [Titans], he can listen to New England, he can see what they’re offering, but there’s no rush. He can wait until a firmer offer from another team materializes. Doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to do anything right now.”

Can Patriots pull off deal for DeAndre Hopkins?

Schefter added New England may not be willing to pay Hopkins more than the $33 million over three years they dished out to JuJu Smith-Schuster earlier this offseason.

Hopkins is on the free agent market after the Arizona Cardinals released him on May 26. He suited up in just nine games this past season, but was his usual productive self. Hopkins hauled in 64 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns. During his first season with the Cardinals in 2020, Hopkins recorded 115 catches with 1,407 and six scores.

Prior to his arrival in Arizona, Hopkins spent seven seasons with the Houston Texans. Hopkins had five 1,000-yard seasons in Houston and four Pro Bowl appearances. His near $31 million cap hit, however, made him expendable for the rebuilding Cardinals. Arizona will incur $22.6 million in dead cap money this season by moving on from Hopkins.