DeAndre Hopkins’ reaction to Chiefs trade should be a warning to NFL

The DeAndre Hopkins-Kansas City Chiefs trade was exactly what both teams needed. With Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown out for the year and no one else ready to step up, the Chiefs needed a wide receiver badly. And with the Titans staring at another lost season, the 32-year-old Hopkins needed to get out of Tennessee expeditiously if he wanted a serious shot at a Super Bowl ring.

Hopkins spoke with the media for the first time since the trade, and he was more than pleased to get to a contending team in the twilight years of his career instead of wasting it away on one of the worst teams in the NFL.

DeAndre Hopkins’ reaction to Chiefs trade should be a warning to NFL

When you look at how the Chiefs have managed this season without really having a top wide receiver all year, it should be scary to the other 31 teams. Kansas City is missing its top four offensive skill players, while Patrick Mahomes has thrown four interceptions and no touchdowns this month. And yet the team still hasn't lost a game, averaging 27 points across two wins in October so far. And they just added a former All-Pro to the lineup (even if he isn't quite what he once was).

The rest of the league needs to be on high alert. Because while Hopkins was playing for the AFC South bottom-feeders for the past two seasons, he also had a 1,000-plus yard receiving year last season. He’s clearly got enough to be a productive receiver in this league, and now he has the best quarterback of the last five seasons throwing to him. 

"I've got to thank (Titans general manager) Ran (Carthon) and his staff for trading me to a contender, first of all, because those guys could've traded me anywhere," Hopkins said Thursday, according to an NFL.com story.

It’s a new beginning for Hopkins, and it might come at the expense of the rest of the NFL.