As rumors go back and forth about DeAndre Hopkins possibly landing with the Patriots, Scott Zolak explained the biggest hurdle between both sides right now.

Relationship with Bill O’Brien? Nope.

Money? Not at the top of the list.

Health? Sort of, but not when it comes to being on the field every Sunday.

• We know Bill Belichick is a big fan of DeAndre Hopkins

  Deandre Hopkins welcome to the New England patriots pic.twitter.com/0FCeGvSvkW https://t.co/GFtbrQbyd4

  — rare (@veryrare_ns) May 26, 2023

• It’s all about the days leading up to Sunday. As the Patriots look to build chemistry and familiarity alongside Bill O’Brien, it’s going to require a ton of reps in practice.

  At this point in Hopkins’ career, is he going to be willing to put his body through the necessary rigors to get this offense back on track?

  Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston dove deep into the issue and after talking to sources, he heard Hopkins was dubbed not a “program fit.” All because Hopkins isn’t too interested in putting his body through wars outside of Sunday anymore.

• Dianna Russini reported some interest between the sides yesterday

  "The Patriots are interested in DeAndre Hopkins and we're gonna see over the next few weeks Hopkins taking visits with different teams and he's going to make a decision what's best for him."https://t.co/fGiodkfplA

  — Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 1, 2023

• Zo echoed similar thoughts as to what Phil Perry has been hearing.

  “This guy (DeAndre Hopkins) doesn’t seem like a complete A-hole to where I hear stories and I read stuff online about being a culture fit in the locker room, do you have enough good leadership to keep him in line. I mean, the guy is gonna be 30, 32 years old here. He’s played a lot in the league. The question is… what is the deal going to be between he and the team as to what how are we going to handle practice? So you’re at a point now where your offense is a complete mess last year. You’re trying to fix things. And if he gets in here, you need him, I know he could just step on the field and play because he’s a good player. But you need timing. You need trust in the quarterback. You need the quarterback to get used to throwing to him and to have the right feel. And I know it would be better than any other receiver he had last year. But, you know, my question would be, would he be able to practice a lot here? And Bert (Albert Breer) keeps talking about that. You know, he’s got a lot of miles on his legs and he doesn’t practice. That would scare the hell out of me. Bill Belichick’s always been you don’t practice, you don’t play. That’s the rule here.”

• Adam Schefter dove into the Patriots being in the mix as well…

• Belichick said nothing when asked on the first day of OTAs

  "I'm not going to comment on players that aren't on this team"
  
  Bill Belichick with a very Bill Belichick answer when asked about free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins.#Patriots | #ForeverNE | #NFL pic.twitter.com/XMouuKOUPd

  — NESN (@NESN) May 31, 2023

• Does it make sense if the Patriots pass? Or is this another AI moment?

  On this day 20 years ago, Allen Iverson talked about practice...and much, much more
  
  The death of his friend, the weight of the franchise on his shoulders, and the reality he and his family lived with every day. pic.twitter.com/YgsaAXpsUh

  — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 7, 2022

   

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