The New England Patriots will have to settle for runner-up in the DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes.
Hopkins is set to sign a two-year, $26 million contract with the Tennessee Titans worth up to $32 million in potential incentives, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.
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Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports first reported that Hopkins was expected to land in Tennessee.
The 31-year-old wide receiver met with both New England and Tennessee in free agency last month, but the Titans reportedly were "more aggressive" than the Patriots in their pursuit of Hopkins and apparently were willing to outspend New England to land the five-time Pro Bowler, as our Phil Perry points out.
With Hopkins off to Tennessee, New England will roll into training camp with a wide receiver group led by JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton, although Smith-Schuster and Thornton both dealt with injuries this spring.
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The team also signed tight end Mike Gesicki in free agency to pair with Hunter Henry, so perhaps Bill Belichick is confident enough in his current offensive weapons with new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien running the show.
The Patriots also reportedly have shown interest in running back Dalvin Cook, but Perry recently noted it's possible the team doesn't sign Hopkins or Cook, especially if their price tags are too high.
"I think Bill Belichick is looking at this team as still in sort of a rebuilding phase," Perry said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston's Arbella Early Edition. "And so, even though we know Robert Kraft is desperate to win, and it sounds like he wants the team to be really aggressive, he's left the spending to Bill Belichick. And based on some of what we've seen in terms of how they built their roster, I don't know if they view this as their window to truly contend."