All of Matthew Judon's recruiting efforts were for naught, it appears.
Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Titans on Sunday, choosing Tennessee over the New England Patriots despite receiving offers from both teams in free agency.
Hopkins also visited both Tennessee and New England last month and even posed for a photo with Judon in the Patriots' locker room while in Foxboro. As you might expect, Judon had a hard time accepting that Hopkins is joining the Titans instead.
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"Fake news," Judon tweeted.
The Patriots' star edge rusher followed that up with another tweet expressing his dismay about the situation.
New England Patriots
Judon has never been shy about using social media as a recruiting tool for big names. Unfortunately for him, the Patriots almost never sign the players he tries to recruit, with Hopkins as the latest example.
New England at least attempted to sign Hopkins, but as Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported Sunday, they weren't willing to give the five-time Pro Bowler the guaranteed money that Tennessee put on the table.
"Based on where it was, the Patriots didn't go to the level that the Titans did," Breer explained on NBC Sports Boston's Sports Sunday. "My understanding is, the max of (the Patriots') offer was $15 million for this year -- so they matched what the Titans did for this year -- but a much higher percentage of it was in incentives."
Hopkins just turned 31 and has missed 15 games in the past two seasons, so maybe Bill Belichick will be proven right by not going the extra mile to sign the wideout. Then again, the Hopkins-less Patriots still lack a true No. 1 receiver -- JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne top the current depth chart -- and at least in the short term, players like Judon seem disappointed the team missed out on another star.