‘Kobe Bryant, one of my favorite athletes of all time. I know if I ever got a chance to wear no. 8. Just like when I picked No. 10 (Lionel) Messi was my favorite,” Hopkins said to reporters Thursday at his introductory Chiefs press conference. ‘No. 8 is a special number.”
Decimated by injuries at the wide receiver position, the 6-0 Chiefs acquired the 12-year veteran wideout in a trade with the 1-5 Tennessee Titans on Wednesday. Hopkins thanked Tennessee for trading him to a contender.
“When I got the news, obviously, I was excited and ready to get to work,” Hopkins said. “I’m means a lot. It takes your game to a different level. Your focus, your drive, knowing that you’re playing for something. It takes your game to a different level. …I haven’t played meaningful football in a couple years.”
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“We’re excited to have him here and join in with that receiving core. He’s been a proven player. He’ll work in those spots that JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Rashee (Rice) did,” Reid said Thursday. “He’s a good space player. A good understanding of how to work in space. At the same time, he’s a tough matchup because of his size, arm length and a big body that knows how to kind of play that low post area very well.”
The Chiefs flirted with the idea of signing Hopkins in 2023 before the three-time first-team All-Pro signed a two-year deal in Tennessee. Now the Chiefs finally got the wide receiver that they’ve coveted for a while.
“Feeling really good with the acquisition of D-Hop. Me and him conversed about this two years ago. We were in Miami talking about what it would look like and how successful he’d be in this offense with Patrick (Mahomes),” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “We finally got him here, so I’m exited about it.”
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