The Kansas City Chiefs are “shopping at Goodwill.” That’s what FOX columnist Rob Parker said about the Red Team’s recent acquisition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The Chiefs have a habit of picking up receivers with lower market value but it comes with a caveat. Andy Reid’s coaching experience turns those dejected skill-position players into stars. However, Parker thinks that’s a “disrespect” to Patrick Mahomes.
The FOX columnist also happens to think that the 3x Super Bowl winner is “Daniel Jones with great defense.” How can a player of his caliber have 8 interceptions through 6 games already? That’s partially his mistake and some of that credit also goes to the receivers in the current Chiefs roster, who either can’t keep up with Mahomes ingenuity, or miss the pass due to silly botches.
DeAndre Hopkins’ aid to Patrick Mahomes angers football analyst
The signing of DeAndre Hopkins flipped Rob Parker out. The ex-Titans receiver is set to make $2.5 million in base salary this year. The catch, however, is that the Tennessee teams are paying that salary out of their pockets. The 5x Pro Bowler signed with them in the free agency of 2023 for a 2-year $26 million deal. But the seems more beneficial for the Kansas City Chiefs than the Titans.
In return, the Tennessee Titans get a 2025 fifth-round pick that can become a fourth-rounder if the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl. But it also comes with the precondition that Hopkins also has to play 60% of his snaps as a Chief this year, or the deal to upgrade that pick is off. This is Hopkins’ 12 NFL season and despite his age, he hasn’t shown much regress. But Rob Parker seems to think otherwise.
Calling Hopkins “potentially washed” is how the conversation started. The rant began with Parker taking shots at Chiefs fans who are complacent that Mahomes will do better now that he has a vet by his side. But for Parker, this is the strangest decision that Brett Veach and his cohorts have taken. The analyst thinks that Hopkins’ signing is the Kansas City Chiefs doing its “bare minimum.”
Per the host of The Odd Couple with Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington, Mahomes “bogus” 10-year $450 million contract is a way to deceive him and lull him into a fallacy of “winning.” The columnist pointed out that the Chiefs are bringing in “rejects” like Kareem Hunt and JuJu Smith-Schuster—players they had traded away a year before but got back now.
“All they do is bring back reject and return items. That’s what they do. ‘Hey Kareem Hunt, we don’t want you. We sent you back and come on back. JuJu, instead of getting a pack of Jujubes at the movie theatre, we’ll get a receiver we didn’t want.’ That’s what the Kansas City Chiefs do and it’s a disrespect to a talent like Patrick Mahomes,” Parker said. However, the reality of the situation is the Chiefs are still winning.
The FOX columnist continued the tirade saying the Chiefs should have picked up Cooper Kupp and they have to “stop being cheap.” He implored the reigning Super Bowl winners to spend the money they’ve piled up with 3 Super Bowl wins with Mahomes. But can the Chiefs still sign Cooper Kupp? And most importantly, what does Mahomes think about the state of his team right now?
Cooper Kupp prospects amidst Mahomes’ blues
Spotrac suggests that the Kansas City team is below $139,302 in the cap space. However, they have $23 million in reserves. But the problem is the Kupp will make a base salary of $15 million this year and the Chiefs might not want to pick it up. The Rams are willing “to take on some of the ‘24 salaries and are seeking a 2nd round pick,” per Dianna Russini The Athletic. It’s important to note that the trade deadline is November 5. But Patrick Mahomes is okay with what he has.
The quarterback spoke to Carrington Harrison on 610 Sports Radio. There he admitted that he doesn’t influence what the front office does. His belief in the locker room makes him think that he can win the football team with the arsenal available to him.
“They keep me in the loop on stuff they are looking at. But I don’t have a ton of influence, man. I know that regardless I don’t play guys on the field that can win football games and that’s what we have right now and if they want to add guys, they can add guys. But at the end of the day, I believe in guys that we have in the building and I think we can win a lot of football games with them,” Mahomes told Carrington Harrison.
Here’s another problem. Hopkins is dealing with a lower leg injury, per NFL. Things are the same with Cooper Kupp. The Rams receiver suffered an ankle injury in week 2 against the Cardinals. However, as evident, hiring DeAndre Hopkins is a low-risk move. But to Rob Parker, the Chiefs will pay the price of this trade one way or the other. It’s also needless to say that the Chiefs needed a glimmer of hope amid Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster’s absence. Signing Hopkins may be the light at the end of the tunnel. Who knows?
