The home opener for the Chicago Bears should be a competitive one. No team was more active in trying to upgrade their roster over the summer than the Tennessee Titans. They spent lavishly in free agency to upgrade their offensive and defense while taking several big swings on the trade market. That, along with a new coaching staff built to support quarterback Will Levis, has many thinking the Titans are a sleeper team to watch. The Bears are about to find out how much better they are.
However, things took an unexpected turn on Thursday. Titans beat writer Paul Kuharsky caught up with star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. It was here he unloaded a shocking secret ahead of the opener.
DeAndre Hopkins was a limited participant in practice for the second day in a row as the Titans prepare for their Sunday opener at Chicago. Thursday the Titans receiver told me just what he’s been recovering from since he last practiced on July 31st:
“I had the MCL tear maybe four and a half, five weeks ago so the thing about those is it takes a whole year for them to heal,” he said. “Obviously it’s pain at that point.”
He did not have surgery on his left knee. I asked if it’s something that could turn into something that needs surgery,
“I don’t like speaking like that, I’m going to let you speak that,” he said laughing.
This is an undeniable bombshell. Tennessee was undoubtedly banking on Hopkins to be a core part of their passing attack against Chicago’s strong secondary led by Jaylon Johnson. Now it appears he will be playing at far less than 100%. Anybody who knows football understands knee stability is vital to effective route-running for receivers.
Hopkins not being fully healthy puts a lot more pressure on Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to carry the load. The fact he’s choosing to play represents a dangerous risk on his part. He likely hopes his mere presence on the field will pull coverages away from his teammates. It wouldn’t be the first time teams have used injured stars as decoys. Not that it would’ve mattered to the Bears secondary. They feel they have the pieces necessary to challenge any receiving corps in the NFL. Jaylon Johnson is challenging enough. Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson have shown they’re ascending as well.
If they sense that Hopkins can’t go at full speed, the Chicago Bears will be able to shift their coverage to Ridley, Boyd, and others. That makes Levis’ life much harder, especially if Montez Sweat and the pass rush don’t give him lots of time to look for alternatives. We’re going to find out exactly how injured he is. Hopkins clearly feels the pain isn’t severe enough to sit out. Whether he can be the player he’s been for the past several years is another story.
