CLEVELAND, Ohio — In the midst of the offseason moves made by the Baltimore Ravens, one rings kindly to one of their top players.
The move to bring in DeAndre Hopkins is one that Rashod Bateman, who just signed three-year extension worth $36.75 million, feels benefits the Ravens.
“You could just definitely tell that he’s been in the game a while and done a lot of great things,” Bateman said of Hopkins. “A lot of people respect what he’s done and what he brings to the table. But as far as right now, he’s been a very good veteran for us, giving all of us advice -- not even just myself -- he’s been very vocal about that. All of us are much younger so [our] ears are open and we’re taking all the advice we can get from him.”
A mid-season trade took Hopkins from Tennessee to Kansas City, where he finished the 2024 season on a sour note, specifically a Super Bowl LIX loss.
Bateman is only four seasons in, but cites the veteran presence of Hopkins within the receiving room.
“He’s done great things, so hopefully we can take that, add it to our game, add it to our personalities to go help this team. He’s been good for us and I know he’s going to be big for us this season,” Bateman said.
The 33-year old Hopkins, a former five-time All-Pro, can still produce when targeted enough.
With Tennessee in 2023, Hopkins caught 75 passes for 1,057 yards, but that also came off 137 targets which resulted in the second-lowest catch percentage in his career (54.7%).
But with Baltimore, he won’t have to be the main guy. He’ll have Bateman and Zay Flowers headlining the receiving corps, which could open up opportunities for him elsewhere on the field.
Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters.