OWINGS MILLS — DeAndre Hopkins remembers his introduction to Lamar Jackson. A former Clemson star, Hopkins was watching the Tigers play Louisville in a prime-time game on ESPN in 2016.
Hopkins became intrigued by the Louisville quarterback who was directing his team up and down the field in an eventual 42-36 victory by Clemson, which went on to win the national championship that season.
“I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’” Hopkins said Friday. “I started following his career after that, because I went to Clemson, and Lamar was a couple of plays away from basically single-handedly beating them. I was like, ‘Man, this kid is going to be special.’”
Hopkins has spoken for a couple of years about how much he’d like to play with Jackson. Amid a contract standoff two offseasons ago, Jackson told Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta that he wanted him to bring Hopkins to Baltimore. There’s been speculation for a few years that Hopkins was a trade or free-agent target for the Ravens.
Finally, the time was right for both sides. Hopkins officially signed his one-year, $5 million contract with Baltimore Friday at the Under Armour Performance Center, and he immediately got to work. The 32-year-old apologized to reporters that he was a little late for his news conference, but he wanted to get a workout in at his new digs first.
He had already talked to Ravens running back Derrick Henry, his former teammate in Tennessee, and he had also spoken to Jackson earlier in the week.
“I think Lamar being the leader of this team is part of the reason that I came here,” Hopkins said. “What he stands for and how he led this team and this organization to the playoffs in multiple years, and since he’s been here, just how he’s led any receiver group he’s had. I think that played a big part of me coming here for sure — Lamar being the quarterback.”
The Ravens and Hopkins are uniting at an interesting time. Baltimore had the top offense in the NFL last season, and Jackson set career highs with 4,172 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes while throwing just four interceptions. Nine of the Ravens’ top-10 pass catchers last year are under contract, except for free agent Nelson Agholor, who had just 14 catches in 2024.
They don’t need Hopkins, who has nearly 1,000 career catches and 13,000 receiving yards to go along with 83 touchdowns, to be the No. 1 option on an offense that had six Pro Bowl selections last year. They also aren’t touting Hopkins’ addition as the final piece to the elusive Super Bowl puzzle.
However, Hopkins is an obvious upgrade over Baltimore’s secondary wide receiver options last season. He also diversifies the group with his combination of size, precise route running, jump-ball ability and sure hands.
“I’ve definitely been in situations the past couple of years where I’ve only gotten a couple of targets, so for me, it’s really never bothered me, and I embrace it,” Hopkins said. “You have to realize and understand this is a business, and that’s how it goes. So, I love it, and the guys that are out there, they’re going to get open — like they have done the past couple of years — and hopefully I can give them a couple of little tricks to help them advance their game a little more. If there’s something they’re doing, I’m sure I’ll ask, ‘Well, what are you doing that I can add in my game,’ because at this position, you never want to feel like you know everything at the receiver position because there are always little things that you can learn from a scout team guy or a rookie, and that’s how you get better.”
Hopkins split last season between the Titans and Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with 56 catches for 610 yards and five touchdowns. He was traded to the Chiefs in late October and wound up catching a touchdown late in Kansas City’s 40-22 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
When he realized he would not be returning to the Chiefs, Hopkins said he put a list together of the teams he was interested in joining. The Ravens were at the top.
“From the head coach down, I feel like everyone, they compete, they’re dogs, and I feel like this organization, this team matches who I am,” Hopkins said.
Required reading
• Ravens free-agency tracker: A look at Baltimore’s signings, trades and cuts
• NFL free agency grades 2025: The good, bad and ugly of key deals
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
