Source – Receiver DeAndre Hopkins visits the Patriots next week

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. Free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins scheduled to visit New England Patriots A source confirmed next week to ESPN on Friday.

Hopkins, who issued by Arizona Cardinals On May 26, he The first group to meet with the Tennessee Titans early in the week.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has long admired Hopkins and the current New England wide receiver Kendrick Bourne He said he would welcome the possibility of Hopkins joining the team.

“I’m a die-hard fan,” Bourne said Friday after the team’s organized activity. “It would be great. I don’t know the gist of what’s going on, but he’s a great player. Anything to help us win, I’m with him.”

Bourne is one of the four best receivers for the Patriots, a group that includes the veteran Devante ParkerFree agent website Jojo Smith Schuster and speedster for the second year Tyquan Thornton.

The team also selected two receivers in the sixth round of the 2023 draft – LSU’s Kishon Pot (No. 187) and Liberty Demario Douglas (No. 210).

The Patriots have immediate salary cap flexibility to match Hopkins, with nearly $13 million in space.

This past December, before the Patriots took on the Cardinals, Belichick was very complimentary about Hopkins.

“He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever trained against,” Belichick said at the time. “…he’s got tremendous ball skills. He catches everything, he’s got great hands, and he’s tall so he’s never covered. Even if he’s covered, there’s somewhere he can get the ball and still catch it. Great coordination on the sidelines, which he He doesn’t really look at him but he’s a tough kid.

“…he’s a very smart footballer, very smart. But his footballing skills are at a very elite level with the guys I’ve seen in this league. He’s up there with the big guys, the Chris Carter of the world and guys like that.”

NFL Network first reported Hopkins’ scheduled visit with the Patriots.