Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins decided to sign with the Tennessee Titans after the New England Patriots took a "cautious approach" to acquiring him by tying their contract offer to incentives, ESPN's Mike Reiss reported.
"For Hopkins, too much of the Patriots' offer was tied to incentives," Reiss wrote. "And for the Patriots, the 'what if' of how Hopkins would fit into their program—and what it would look like if those incentives weren't close to being reached—contributed to their more cautious approach."
Hopkins will receive a base salary of $12 million with the Titans in 2023 and could make an additional $3 million with incentives, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported.