Vrabel, Henry part of what helped Titans land 3-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — DeAndre Hopkins has had a good relationship with Mike Vrabel since their Houston days, a man who was one of the first to congratulate the three-time All-Pro receiver on being traded to Arizona and also the first to call him out for not making a catch for the Cardinals.

”I appreciate that right away because that’s how he was in Houston with me,” Hopkins said Tuesday, a day after signing his two-year deal with the Titans.

Hopkins also is friends with three-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry. Now they're all together with the Tennessee Titans, and Hopkins believes he can be one of the pieces they need to win in the AFC South again.

Why?

Well, Hopkins watched the Titans come three minutes away from winning a third straight division title with a quarterback sign days before the regular-season finale.

“That right there kind of woke my eyes up to see that they’re only a couple of pieces away from where they want to be,” Hopkins said.

The Titans certainly hope Hopkins helps fill their biggest offseason need as veterans reported to camp Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's first full practice.

Even at the age of 31, Hopkins easily should help the Titans take a big step toward improving a passing game that ranked 30th in the NFL last season, averaging a mere 171.4 yards per game. Only four NFL teams scored fewer points per game in 2022 than Tennessee’s 17.5 points a game.

The five-time Pro Bowler would have led Tennessee last season despite being limited to only nine games by a six-game suspension to start the season and missing the final two with a knee injury. He finished with 64 catches for 717 yards, and his three touchdown receptions would have tied for third on Tennessee.

Hopkins still ranked fourth among all NFL players in averaging 7.1 catches per game.

Vrabel said he made clear to Hopkins not to waste the Titans' time if he wasn't interested in joining Tennessee as a free agent.

The Titans were the first NFL team Hopkins visited after Arizona cut him for salary cap savings in late May. During Hopkins’ seven seasons in Houston (2013-19), Vrabel started coaching Texans’ linebackers in 2014 and was defensive coordinator in 2017 before the Titans hired him in 2018 as their head coach.

Hopkins also is reunited with offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, his coordinator in Houston in 2019 when the receiver had 104 catches for 1,165 yards and seven TDs. Passing game coordinator Charles London also was in Houston coaching running backs between 2014 and 2017.

Vrabel said Hopkins has always built a strong trust factor with his quarterbacks, which he expects will happen with Ryan Tannehill.

“He’s strong with the football,” Vrabel said. "Contested catches we know how many of those there are in this league, so those are things that we’ll have to continue to work on and continue to make a strength of his.”

No one in the NFL has more catches since 2013 than Hopkins with 853 in his 10 seasons. Hopkins also has at least one catch in each of his 145 regular-season games played.

Only Julio Jones (11,472) has more yards receiving since 2013 in the NFL than Hopkins, and Jones was Tennessee's attempt at upgrading its receiving group in 2021 before being released in 2022. Since 2013, Hopkins’ 71 TD catches rank fourth behind Davante Adams, Mike Evans and Antonio Brown.

Hopkins said Henry played a big role in him choosing Tennessee. Hopkins played with Arian Foster in Houston and wanted to be a part of this offense with Henry.

“Derrick Henry is definitely by far one of the best running backs that I would be able to have a chance to play with,” Hopkins said.

NOTES: Vrabel said Hopkins will miss a couple of days early in camp for a commitment he told them about earlier. ... The Titans start camp with CB Caleb Farley and Dillon Radunz, the top two draft picks of 2021, on the physically unable to perform list. They reported last weekend along with rookies. OLB Harold Landry III, who tore an ACL on Aug. 31, will be available starting Wednesday.

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Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker

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