Free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins wanted to expand his football boundaries at 34. That quest led him to Foxborough, where New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel brought him on as a coaching assistant – as announced by Vrabel on July 24th. But less than a week later, that chapter’s now closed.

“Well, it was a great experience. Hop’s not here,” Vrabel said in his latest presser. “But it was a great experience for I think all of us. I think it’s what you try to do when you have some of these unique situations where a player, or a former player, or whatever it may be, wants to come in and help, and learn, and they love football. And so, I think it was good for everybody.”

Hopkins played under Mike Vrabel for the head coach’s final two seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2022-23). That shared history opened the door for Hopkins to put in the request. When Vrabel first said that Hopkins was joining the Patriots, he did explain that it was to “come out and hang out for a couple of days.” Vrabel even spoke to the league and got the green signal from them to bring him in.

DeAndre Hopkins put in some work with the Patriots’ wide receivers on some contested catch drills during his brief week in New England, but Vrabel had already clarified that he wasn’t exactly coaching players.

“He is not coaching here, and he is helping out the offensive coaches and being with our personnel guys,” Vrabel had said. “He loves football and people that love football and playing football for the length of time that he did want, I think to explore the opportunities and what that looks like after his playing career is over.”

After playing with the Baltimore Ravens last season, Hopkins hit free agency. But even with the 5x Pro Bowler being linked to multiple teams, he remains unsigned with just a little over a month before the regular season kicks off. Injuries thinning out rosters, or teams in need of a veteran locker room presence, could still come calling. But if they don’t, DeAndre Hopkins has already gotten a little taste of life as a football coach, and he might already be on the lookout for more.