Patriots should not let DeAndre Hopkins leave without a contract

This week, the New England Patriots are hosting DeAndre Hopkins on a free agent visit, and they should not let him leave without a contract. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? DeAndre Hopkins recently became the best free agent on the market when he was cut by the Arizona Cardinals.

The former Houston Texan and Cardinal is now free to sign with any team of his choosing, and he's already went on one visit with the Tennessee Titans. I'm not really sure why Hopkins would visit a team like Tennessee, as I think the fit would be brutal, but I guess he truly is open to playing for most teams.

This week, Hopkins is set to visit the Patriots, who have a much clearer avenue and need to add someone like Hopkins. The team is trying to dig themselves back into relevancy and have done a solid job of that thus far by adding three weapons on offensive including James Robinson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Mike Gesicki.

Bill O'Brien now running the offense is also going to be a huge boost for the Patriots. With a complete defense now, the only thing that this roster is truly missing besides an elite quarterback is a game-changing wide receiver, and DeAndre Hopkins can be just that for the team.

Mac Jones is the type of QB who will need a lot around him to go right in order to succeed. That's just the truth. I don't think he'll ever be in the business of elevating those around him, and his ceiling as a passer is on the lower end.

According to spotrac.com, Hopkins' market value on a new contract is estimated to be three years, $69.6 million. This might seem like a lot for Hopkins, but it ranks ninth among receivers, which does seem about right for the player.

Here's what Jeremy Fowler said about a potential new contract that Hopkins may get:

"“Read I got on DeAndre Hopkins — and why some teams believed he would get released — was $19M salary always prohibitive, even if non-guaranteed,” he tweeted. “Teams that wanted reworked deal at lesser clip weren’t convinced he would take. Odell Beckham’s big $ made taking less even tougher.”"

- Jeremy Fowler

Odell Beckham Jr's contract does complicate things, as I think the Baltimore Ravens massively overpaid the receiver. Hopkins may look at this AAV as the baseline for his new deal. OBJ is getting at least $15 million this year, so Hopkins may want that to be a starting point for a deal, and likely wants to eclipse that number.

On a hypothetical two-year deal, I would guess that Hopkins could get $34 million, which comes in at $17 million per season. Would that be too much for Hopkins? I don't believe so. If that would be a contract he'd entertain, the Patriots should not let him leave without signing on the dotted line.