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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is scheduled to visit the New England Patriots next week, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.
Hopkins, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals on May 26, is first set to meet with the Tennessee Titans next week.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick has long admired Hopkins, and current New England receiver Kendrick Bourne welcome the possibility of Hopkins joining the team.
“I’m a fan of D-Hop. It would be cool,” Bourne said Friday after the team’s organized team activity. “I don’t know the gist of what’s going on, but he is a great player. Anything that would help us win, I’m with.”
Bourne is one of the Patriots’ top four receivers — a group that also includes veteran DeVante Parker, free-agent signing JuJu Smith-Schuster and second-year speedster Tyquan Thornton.
The team selected two receivers in the sixth round of the 2023 draft — LSU’s Kayshon Boutte (No. 187) and Liberty’s Demario Douglas (No. 210).
The Patriots have immediate flexibility with the salary cap to fit Hopkins, with approximately $13 million in space.
Last December, prior to the Patriots facing the Cardinals, Belichick was highly complimentary of Hopkins.
“He’s every bit as good as anybody I’ve ever coached against,” Belichick said then. “… He’s got tremendous ball skills. He catches everything, has great hands, and he’s long so he’s never covered. Even if he’s covered, there’s a place where the ball can be that he can get it and still make the catch. Great coordination on the sidelines, and he doesn’t really look it but he’s a strong kid.
“… He’s a very smart football player, very savvy. But his ball skills are at the very elite level with guys that I’ve seen in this league. He’s up there with whoever the top guys are, the Cris Carters of the world and guys like that.”
NFL Network first reported Hopkins’ scheduled visit with the Patriots.