$54.5M Patriots star fires salty tweet amidst DeAndre Hopkins’ decision to pick Titans over Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick nearly had his man until he didn't as DeAndre Hopkins chose the Tennessee Titans over the New England Patriots. The wide receiver chose to play for a former Bill Belichick player in Mike Vrabel than play directly under him.

That rubbed at least one Patriots player the wrong way. Matthew Judon responded when the news initially broke dubbing it fake. Unfortunately for him, though, the news looks as real as they come.

Could Matthew Judon's $54.5M contract played a role in DeAndre Hopkins choosing Titans over Patriots and Bill Belichick?

DeAndre Hopkins joining the New England Patriots would have given them a fighting chance to go and compete in the season. Bill Belichick has brought back Bill O'Brien for offensive duties, which is a plus, and they have Mc Jones learning from experience. Their defense was already in the top half of the league last season in terms of yards allowed.

Getting someone like DeAndre Hopkins would have made the Patriots stronger and Matthew Judon's frustration is understandable. But what he may have overlooked is how his contract restructuring last year might have affected the scenario.

In trying to reduce the cap hit of his $54.5 million contract last year, the Patriots restructured it. From an initial $16.5 million cap hit in the 2022 season, they reduced it to $14.285. But that meant that his 2023 cap hit increased to above $18 million and $16 million in 2024. Therefore, he ate up more into the cap space this year.

Meanwhile, DeAndre Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans for two years for $26 million, which can rise up to $32 million based on incentives. While New England tried to move around the money available by restructuring contracts of players like DeVante Parker and Ja'Whaun Bentley, clearly that did not prove enough for the wide receiver.

There are other factors in play as well. As some analysts highlighted, Derrick Henry's presence with the Tennessee Titans is a big factor as well. Having a running back like him means more defenders being committed to the box leaving the wide receivers facing single coverage. He might have though he would have had more impact there.

Finally, the AFC East looks to be a tougher division on paper than the AFC South. That gives the Titans more chances of winning and making it to the playoffs and perhaps DHop was swayed by that as well. Whatever the reasons, he is now off to Tennessee, much to the chagrin of Matthew Judon, and one assumes Bill Belichick.