Tight end Austin Hooper is officially heading to the Cleveland Browns. At this point, the exact length and financial value of the contract is unavailable to the public, but he has supposedly reset the tight end market. Hooper has spent all four seasons of his career with the Atlanta Falcons.
Update: Per Vaugh McClure of ESPN Atlanta, Hooper signed a four-year, $44 million deal with $23 million guaranteed.
#Falcons free agent TE Austin Hooper, the top player at his position, is headed to the #Browns, per @TomPelissero, @MikeSilver and me. They’ve agreed to terms, he’s the new highest-paid TE.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2020
Austin Hooper, Cleveland Browns Agree to Deal
Austin Hooper is coming off a season that – despite missing three games – saw him set personal highs in basically all categories. He finished with 75 receptions for 787 yards and six touchdowns. As a result, he made his second straight Pro Bowl.
Hooper played football in college with Stanford for only two years. In 2015, he made the First-Team All-PAC-12. He declared early for the NFL Draft, and was ultimately selected in the third round by the Falcons (81st overall).
His rookie season saw his opportunities be fairly limited, as Jacob Tamme was the primary starting tight end most of that year. Still, despite only having 271 yards that year, his 14.3 yards per reception remain a career high. And he got to play in the Super Bowl and have a decent role there, where he caught a 19-yard touchdown in the loss.
He ultimately became the starter in 2017, and started that first season off with a bang by having an 88-yard touchdown catch in the season opener. This remains his longest catch to date. He ultimately finished with 526 yards and three touchdowns that year.
2018 saw his numbers continue to go up, as he had 71 receptions for 660 yards and four touchdowns. While his 9.3 yards per reception were the lowest of his career, he still got elected to his first Pro Bowl as an alternate – the first of two consecutive Pro Bowl berths.
Hooper’s numbers have gone up in receptions and receiving yards since he first came in; he’ll be looking to keep that going in 2020. It’ll help if he can stay healthy this time. So far in his career he has 214 catches for 2,244 yards and 16 touchdowns.
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