30 June 2023 , 17:10
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The New England Patriots signed wide receiver Devante Parker to a three-year, $33 million (£25.95m) deal this week - one which was assumed would rule them out of bringing in free agent DeAndre Hopkins.
But that does not look to be the case, with multiple reports suggesting that the team is still interested in signing Hopkins after he visited the team earlier this month.
The superstar receiver has held visits with both the Patriots and Tennessee Titans, while also having interest from the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.
A move to New England had been seen as tough to get done after they rewarded Parker with an interestingly lucrative deal, following a solid but not overly impressive first season with the team.
Parker registered 539 yards and three touchdowns as one of the go-to options for quarterback Mac Jones last season, and he was expected to be given a lesser role after the team signed both JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki to reasonably large contracts.
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However, the Patriots have given Parker the exact same deal as they had with Super Bowl winner Smith-Schuster.
But while Parker received his big extension, the deal will lower his base salary in the first season - which will open up cap space for the Patriots and potentially givie them enough money to sign Hopkins.
Hopkins is expected to ask for at least $15 million (£11.8m) per season - the amount that former fellow free agent Odell Beckham Jr received earlier this offseason when he joined the Baltimore Ravens. Patriots QB Mac Jones has already stated that he would love to see Hopkins join the new-look Patriots offense this season.
Hopkins remains a free agent after being surprisingly cut from the Arizona CardinalsSpeaking on media day, Jones said: "I think DeAndre's a great player. I mean, you watch his film from college all the way through the NFL. He's done a great job. So obviously, we'd love to have him. But we do have a great group of guys, and we just know that we want to win, and I know that all the guys feel the same way.
"I've been really pleased with the playmakers we have on our team. We've come out here and really bought into this system and that will really show in training camp and preseason.
"The young and old guys, like DP (DeVante Parker) and everybody. We have a good group, and we definitely feel like we just need to keep growing together. And whoever's in that room, we'll try and dominate together."