Chiefs lurking on one of the biggest free agents still available

The Kansas City Chiefs are still somewhat in on signing DeAndre Hopkins in his free agency.

Although other teams probably have the upper hand over them right now, do not be shocked if DeAndre Hopkins were to make his way onto the Kansas City Chiefs roster in his long-drawn-out NFL free agency.

Hopkins spent the last three years with the Arizona Cardinals prior to being released several weeks ago. He may be on the wrong side of 30, but he still has plenty of high-quality ball left in the tank. Despite him taking visits with the New England Patriots and the Tennessee Titans, there is a chance he could sign with the cash-strapped Chiefs. They are probably third in the race.

Here is what ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler had to say about the Chiefs/Hopkins fit on SportsCenter:

"“The Chiefs have kept in contact, I’m told, with DeAndre Hopkins’ camp, they have, certainly, some interest. Problem is money, they don’t have much of it., They’re really tight on the salary cap. Now, if they extend defensive tackle Chris Jones who has a $28 million cap hit, that would free up some money where they could go after Hopkins a little more aggressively. But that deal might not happen until closer to training camp or even after. So I would consider the Chiefs on the periphery right now.”"

Of course, signing Hopkins is entirely contingent on when Chris Jones receives his extension.

NFL rumors: Where the Kansas City Chiefs stand on signing DeAndre Hopkins

If Hopkins were to come to Kansas City, it would only come after the Jones extension, as Fowler notes. The Chiefs are in a bad spot with the salary cap, so extending their star defensive lineman would be able to free up some much-needed space. After that, Kansas City would then be free to pursue Hopkins, although they need to figure out what to do about L’Jarius Sneed, who will be hitting free agency.

The allure of playing in Kansas City is pretty obvious. Hopkins would have the best quarterback in football throwing him the ball in Patrick Mahomes. Being part of an Andy Reid offense could lead to a second-half renaissance in Hopkin’s hall-of-fame-caliber career. Also, being in the mix to win a Super Bowl year in and year out would be appealing. For now, it all comes down to the money…

A player of Hopkins’ caliber rarely gets to free agency, but there is only so much cap space left to be used across the league at this stage of the offseason. Perhaps familiarity with Bill O’Brien gets him to New England? The same principle could apply to Mike Vrabel in Tennessee. Regardless, Hopkins will find somewhere to play, but time is of the essence if he were to go to the Chiefs now.

Not until Jones gets extended can we really put much stock into the Chiefs’ interest with Hopkins.