Longtime Eagles voice isn't certain DeAndre Hopkins fits current locker room culture

During his days at 'Wide Receiver U' a.k.a. Clemson, DeAndre Hopkins was affectionately and respectfully referred to by the Tigers faithful as 'Nuke'. That nickname didn't follow him to the NFL, but, aside from a recent suspension, one that cost him the first six games of the 2022-2023 regular season, he has been dropping bombs wherever he has been. Now, he is starting over following his release from the Arizona Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Eagles have been named as a possible landing spot.

Trust us. We know what you're thinking. Who isn't sick of hearing about every disgruntled NFL star or available free agent being linked to Philly is some capacity? Between 'HowieSZN' hashtags on Twitter and ramblings on publications like this one, the drama seemingly never ends,

Sure, we were right about Ndamukong Suh, Steven Nelson, and James Bradberry. Heck, we still believe we're right about Kareem Hunt, but more often than not, smoke doesn't always lead us to fire. It's for that reason that we would normally ignore a 'DeAndre to the Eagles campaigns', but this time, things are a little different.

DeAndre Hopkins actually stated he would like to play with Jalen Hurts. Recently, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Eric Mullin named the Birds during his take on five possible landing spots for a man who's suddenly one of the more desirable available free-agent wide receivers on the market (Mullin named the Eagles as a 'bonus team', but one longtime reporter on all things Eagles threw his two cents in recently. He doesn't seem to be on board with the idea, and you'll want to hear what he had to say.

JAKIB Sports mainstay Derrick Gunn believes DeAndre Hopkins could upset the Eagles locker room chemistry.

During a recent airing of JAKIB Sports' highly-popular Sports Take, Rob Ellis and Derrick Gunn weighed in on the Hopkins rumors. It appears D.G. has already done some digging.

We have heard theories that the Eagles would go 17-0 if they signed DeAndre Hopkins (see Derek Carr of the NFL Network). Everyone knows there are concerns about Quez Watkins. We like Greg Ward, but the Eagles act as if they don't sometimes. No one is certain of what Olamide Zaccheaus will provide during his first year with the team.

Philadelphia might have the best wide receiver duo in the NFL in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (no disrespect to Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill), but if they endure any injuries, that theory can change in a hurry. Would Hopkins help with that? You bet he would. Just look at the resume:

• Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie Team (2013)
• Three-time First-team All-Pro (2017–2019)
• Two-time Second-team All-Pro (2015, 2020)
• Pro Bowl nominations (2015, 2017–2020)
• NFL receiving touchdowns leader (2017)

If this was simply a discussion about talent and if the NFL was played minus a salary cap, it would be hard to deny that a move involving the addition of DeAndre Hopkins to the Eagles' roster would be one that most fans and members of the media would be fans of. As a matter of fact, Gunn's JAKIB Sports colleague, Dan Sileo, is a fan. He believes the Eagles are the top candidates to land Hopkins if they were willing to pursue him.

We all know this isn't Fantasy football or the 'Ultimate Team Mode' on Madden. There's more to piecing an NFL roster together than grabbing a group of guys who can play. Personalities must be blended, and the last time we checked, football is only played with one pigskin. Other components must be considered,

How would this affect A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith's touches? Even with a rising salary cap, this makes it hard to pay DeAndre, A.J., and DeVonta right? What about other players who are possibly in line for another big payday like Landon Dickerson? How are they affected? Keep in mind the fact that Haason Reddick is already in the second year of a three-year deal, and after last season, he already looks underpaid.

Adding someone like DeAndre affects all of the decision-making in each scenario. These guys are professionals. They would never say this publicly, but if you think DeVonta wants a WR3 role, you're fooling yourselves.

In the meantime, here are a couple of nuggets that you might see as being interesting. It appears that there were two teams that were involved in serious trade conversations with the Cardinals before backing away from the negotiating table. Neither of those teams was Philly.

His release probably added a few interested parties. Might one be the New York Jets? DeAndre, as of Saturday, appears to be following a few of their players on Twitter. Here are a couple of updates.

While Gunn states some theories that we can all go back and forth on, there's a lot of truth to what he is saying. There has been a lot of smoke, but we aren't expecting to find a fire.

It appears that Philly's best bet might be to coach up some of these young guys, like the undrafted rookies, Jadon Haselwood and Joseph Ngata. If one or both of those guys has something, the Eagles have little to worry about.