Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins is in his 12th season and as close to a title as he's ever been. Since he's past his prime — his last Pro Bowl was in 2020 — he isn't likely to have many more shots.
Hopkins owes it all to the Titans, who traded him to the Chiefs on Oct. 23.
The Titans ended up with the worst record in the league and the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Chiefs ended up in the Super Bowl.
"It meant a lot for the Titans to trade me to the Chiefs," Hopkins said, via video from Nick Suss of The Tennessean. "I thank [owner] Ms. Amy [Adams Strunk] and [former General Manager] Ran [Carthon] 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 Ms. Amy thanks."
Hopkins' frustration with the Titans came to a head during a 34-10 loss to the Bills on Oct. 20. In the fourth quarter, Hopkins was not on the field. There were questions about whether he had reinjured his knee or was benched.
The answer is neither.
Hopkins said Monday he took himself out of the game out of frustration.
"We lost to the Bills and there was a lot of stuff in the media saying I got benched," Hopkins said. "You know I'm not the type to go on social media and speak my truth or speak what happened, because I feel like everything always kind of passes. I didn't get benched. But that was 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 on the field, I want to be included in something. And so I took myself out of the game, and I saw a lot of things in the media saying I got benched. I let it go, but the next day I went to Ran's office. I was like, 'Man, I'm almost losing love for this game being in this situation.' I could talk to Ran like that, because he understands me. He said, 'Man, I see it in your eyes. I see it that this isn't a place where you might want to be.' We had that tough conversation, and the next day I got traded to the Chiefs."
That week, Carthon dealt Hopkins, who made 15 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown in six games with the Titans and 41 receptions for 437 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games with the Chiefs. In two postseason games, Hopkins has one catch for 11 yards.
