DeAndre Hopkins says the Lions rejected him in free agency

In a big picture sense, visions of DeAndre Hopkins joining Amon-Ra St. Brown to create a formidable wide receiver duo for the Detroit Lions were intriguing. It never appeared likely to happen, especialy after Dan Campbell seemed to dismiss any interest, but it was interesting to think about.

After a lot of speculation about where he might land, Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans in mid-July. Even after two seasons marked by injuries and a PED suspension, plenty of teams could (should have?) had interest in the 31-year old.

Hopkins sat down with GQ's Clay Skipper back in August, and the result was released Thursday morning. Hopkins talked about his run in free agency, for the first time in his career. He thinks his age played a role in a lack of offers, even if he seems to have plenty left in the tank. His asking price was also likely a factor in any lack of offers.

"It ain't too many people out there that can say honestly that they can lock me down, guard me for a full four quarters," "

- DeAndre Hopkins, via GQ

DeAndre Hopkins says the Lions were among the teams who didn't return his call

Hopkins mentioned a few teams he had on his "list", and reached out to.

"There were some teams that I had on my list that I gave them calls and they didn't give a call back,"
"Detroit Lions, they didn't want me. Dallas Cowboys didn't want me. Giants didn't want me. Sh*t. Who else ain't want me? San Fran ain't want me.""

Hopkins named the Lions, Cowboys, Giants and 49ers as teams he called (he signed with an agent in late-May) but didn't call him back. He surely called others who did call him back, but a deal was simply not struck with them before he got what he wanted from the Titans.

Ultimately, Hopkins said he's happy with where he landed. But being rejected by teams he had interest in playing for has clearly added a layer of motivation for him. Otherwise he wouldn't have named names in an interview.

While it's a bit surprising the Lions didn't return his call, maybe because he wasn't represented by an agent at that point, their interest in Hopkins was likely never all that strong.