DeAndre Hopkins Said He Is Not Retired Even After Joining Georgia Tech Coaching Staff
DeAndre Hopkins wants everyone to know he has not hung it up. He just also wants your five-star wide receiver recruits to come play for Georgia Tech.
Hopkins hopped on X on Saturday to clear up a growing narrative that he was done playing football. He is not, according to him. He simply took a coaching role with the Yellow Jackets, and that role does not preclude him from suiting up if a team calls.
“I Haven’t retired from the @NFL,” Hopkins wrote. “But if you’re a WR and you want to be great, come to @GeorgiaTechFB.” That is the multitask of the year: recruiting pitch and career update in the same tweet.
Hopkins spent time in New England Patriots camp last week as a coach before promptly leaving. That fueled speculation he was transitioning to a coaching career full time. It also raised questions about whether any NFL team had actually called this offseason. So far, the answer appears to be no.
Hopkins is 34. He spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens and caught just 22 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns. That is a shell of what Hopkins used to be, when he was one of the most reliable contested-catch receivers of his generation. In his prime he was a walking first down. Last year he was a rotation piece who never really carved out a role in a crowded Baltimore offense.
The Ravens moved on. Nobody signed him. The Georgia Tech gig popped up. Suddenly it looked like a soft landing into coaching.
Hopkins is not ready to accept that story. He still thinks he can play, and he wants a team to believe him. The question is whether any team actually will. Teams that need veteran depth at wide receiver have plenty of options right now. Guys like Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr. have been through this same phase. The market for aging wideouts with cap concerns is not big.
Still, injuries happen. Camps get bit by the bug. Someone loses a starter in Week 2 and suddenly a veteran with 12,000 career yards and a Super Bowl ring looks a lot more attractive.
Hopkins is playing the long game. Coach at Georgia Tech during the fall. Recruit some kids. Keep himself in shape. Wait for the phone call that may or may not come.
If it does not, at least he has a runway into what could be a long coaching career. Hopkins clearly has ideas about the position, and Georgia Tech is a program on the rise under Brent Key. There are worse landing spots.
For now, though, DeAndre Hopkins wants everyone to know one thing. He is still a football player. He just happens to also be a coach.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
