Chiefs fans come to unexpected DeAndre Hopkins realization way too late

Despite suffering a heartbreaking, last-second loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 1, the Baltimore Ravens still showed obvious signs they are a significant threat to the rest of the AFC. If it weren't for a circus catch from Keon Coleman on fourth down, a disastrously timed fumble from Derrick Henry, an awfully controversial punt decision from John Harbaugh and an all-time collapse from Baltimore's defense — all in the span of just a few minutes — we'd all likely be talking about just how unstoppable the Ravens' offense appeared to be for most of the game.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 209 yards on just 14 completions. Two of those were to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who accrued 35 yards and a sick touchdown grab late in the third quarter to put Baltimore up by two scores.

Hopkins certainly isn't the WR1 he used to be, but his one-handed grab had fans reminiscing about his trademark snags when he balled out for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. Though, Kansas City Chiefs fans may have been feeling some sellers' remorse.

Chiefs may have moved on from DeAndre Hopkins too soon

Hopkins' clutch highlight is the kind of production the Chiefs were hoping to get from him when they traded a fifth-round draft pick for his services in 2024. In the latter part of the 2024-25 season, Hopkins caught 41 balls for 437 yards and four touchdowns across 10 games for Kansas City. His dynamism is long gone, but he's still a contested-catch maven who can be useful in a limited role.

That's nothing to turn your nose up at by any means, but for some reason the Chiefs didn't make a hard enough push to re-sign Hopkins this offseason. Instead, Baltimore won his services with a one-year, $5 million contract.

To add insult to injury, Kansas City lost one of its top receivers in Xavier Worthy to injury during their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Worthy suffered a dislocated shoulder after colliding with teammate Travis Kelce in the first quarter.

Now, the Chiefs may be scrambling to find a trade partner to bring in an additional weapon for QB Patrick Mahomes if Worthy is going to miss extended time. And on top of that, Rashee Rice is suspended through Week 6. It would've been nice to have Hopkins on the roster to ease concerns.