DeAndre Hopkins, one of the best wide receivers of his era, will be part of the New England Patriots’ training camp this summer. However, he will not be on the field catching passes.
Instead, as Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel announced during a pre-camp press conference on Friday, Hopkins will be assisting the team’s coaching staff.
“DeAndre Hopkins is here with us just to kind of check things out as far as what he wants to do as far as coaching. You’ll see him on the field,” Vrabel said.
Hopkins and
Vrabel go back to 2014, when the former was a second-year receiver for the Houston Texans and the latter joined the organization as its linebackers coach under Bill O’Brien. They later reunited in Tennessee during the 2023 season and have now joined forces again in New England.
“He asked if he could hang out for a couple of days and be around the coaches and around the personnel department,” Vrabel said about the 34-year-old. “I called the league to make sure that was going to be okay, and then I invited him back. That’s where he’s been the last couple of days, and he’ll be here for the next couple of days.”
Between entering the league as a first-round draft pick in 2013 and his 2025 season with the Baltimore Ravens, Hopkins appeared in a combined 204 regular season and playoff games. A five-time All-Pro selection and five-time Pro Bowler, he has a total of 1,046 receptions, 13,770 receiving yards and 87 on his résumé.
Hopkins has not officially announced his retirement from the NFL yet, but Vrabel made sure to point out that he is not in town in hopes of continuing his active playing career.
“He is coaching from here on, and he is helping the offensive coaches and work with the personnel guys. He loves football. People that love football and have played the game for the length of time that he did, once they explore the opportunities and what that looks like once his playing career is over.
The Patriots’ wide receiver group is being coached by Todd Downing, and heads into training camp with offseason acquisitions A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs as the headline names. The veteran pair is being joined by returning veterans Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams, among others.
They and the rest of the 12 total wideouts on the current roster will take the practice fields on Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET for the first time this summer.
