Detroit Lions somehow named among teams with odds to trade for DeAndre Hopkins

The Detroit Lions don’t feel like a great fit for DeAndre Hopkins, but at least one set of hypothetical odds has them among a set of teams who are named specifically.

As the Arizona Cardinals head into a reset, with a new general manager and a new head coach coming, they will reportedly try to trade wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins this offseason. Over 30 years old and apparently set to seek a new (expensive) contract, Hopkins is not a fit for a rebuild.

There are plenty of teams who can make a case to trade for Hopkins. Despite having his last two seasons truncated by injuries and a suspension, he can still get it done. It’s just hard to see the Detroit Lions being on any list of prominent potential suitors, for various viable reasons. Not the least of which is his having a no-trade clause, and ultimate control over where he goes.

A trade for Hopkins is the kind of all-in, damn the torpedoes move Lions general manager Brad Holmes doesn’t seem ready or willing to do. There are easy (if inherently overblown) questions about how Hopkins might fit in personality-wise within the Lions’ locker room too.

Detroit Lions named on list of teams with odds to trade for DeAndre Hopkins

At times people in Vegas and the sportsbooks land interestingly ahead of the curve on things, leading everyone to admire the inside knowledge that led to the foresight to see something would happen. It might be shifts in a point spread, where a player will end up, etc.

With that in mind, any list of potential landing spots for Hopkins has some usual suspects. The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens are perpetually looking for a No. 1 wide receiver of his caliber. The Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans or even the (shudder at the thought) Kansas City Chiefs fit that bill with a need for a true, proven No. 1 guy.

Adam Thompson of Bookies.com posted some DeAndre Hopkins trade odds on Wednesday. The odds do come with an important note about being strictly for entertainment purposes, and not being available on legal betting sites. But they are interesting to look at, even with those caveats.

"Kansas City Chiefs, +300, Implied Probability: 25%New England Patriots +325, Implied Probability: 23.5%Green Bay Packers, +450, Implied Probability: 18.2%Dallas Cowboys, +550, Implied Probability: 15.4%New York Giants, +750, Implied Probability: 11.8%Detroit Lions, +1000, Implied Probability: 9.1%The Field, +500,  Implied Probability: 16.7%"

To be fair, the Lions land with the worst odds of the six listed teams (+1000, 100/1), and an over seven percent lower implied probabilty than “The Field” of the remaining 26 teams.

But that Thompson chose to name the Lions on the list is noteworthy, and he labeled them as a dark horse.

"For a dark horse, consider the Detroit Lions, who just missed out on the postseason but made major advances under second-year coach Dan Campbell. The Lions have cash and they have a WR room full of young (and cheap) talent. The Lions are likely to spend the offseason shoring up a porous defense, but Hopkins should be on their radar."

The odds the Lions trade for Hopkins, literally, hypothetically or figuratively, are remote until somehow shown otherwise. But would you lay a few dollars down at 100/1 odds that it happens, if it was legally posted to bet on?

It’s a interesting longshot bet to think about (if only hypothetically), even if logic/reasoning say it will not happen and Hopkins will be in a uniform other than a Lions’ uniform next season.