DeAndre Hopkins gives major health update amid quiet playoff run for Chiefs

On By Littum

The Kansas City Chiefs’ passing attack was underwhelming in the divisional round win over the Houston Texans despite the excellence of Travis Kelce.

Patrick Mahomes knows he needs to get more players involved to take down the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship. DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster were all held without a catch in the first playoff game. It worked against the Texans, but almost certainly wouldn’t against the Bills.

Some have speculated during the week that Hopkins could be hurt. However, Pete Sweeney of the Arrowhead Pride asked The All-Pro Wideout directly about his health, and Hopkins gave an interesting answer.

Feeding Hopkins seems like an easy way to limit some of the offensive issues. He is one of the most skilled receivers of his generation and proved to be a capable route-runner and pass-catcher since coming over from the Tennessee Titans midseason.

However, Hopkins played just 16 snaps in the Texans win, his lowest mark since his first game with the Chiefs. After Sweeney asked Hopkins if he was 100%, Hopkins seemingly avoided the question in a respectful manner.

The standout receiver said he is doing well. It’s far from a straight answer, and Sweeney isn’t one to fluff quotes. Regardless, Hopkins refused to blame injuries on his lack of involvement. From an outside perspective, it looks like there should be some Explanation of the low snap count. It’s not efficiency or familiarity with the offense that suggests a potential injury is a logical conclusion for fans to reach.

Perhaps the nature of that specific matchup did not favor Hopkins’ game. He essentially had three weeks off to rest, and there has been no report of a new health scare that led to the understandable questions.

For Kansas City to advance to a third consecutive Super Bowl, Hopkins will need to be at his best. The Chiefs can win without him, as they proved last Saturday, though it’s best not to tempt fate again.

Regardless of Hopkins’ status, the Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook with the second best odds to win the Super Bowl (+210).

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