Slotted as a reserve OL entering 2019 training camp, Hopkins won Cincinnati's No. 1 C job with strong preseason and went on to start all 16 games ... Considered among Bengals' top performers on OL in 2019, and his strong play earned him a contract extension in December that keeps him in Cincinnati through '22 ... Missed just one play in 2019, good for a team-high 99.9 percent of offensive snaps ... Originally a Bengals college free agent signee in 2014, he battled injuries and bounced between the Bengals' roster and practice squad his first three seasons (2014-16) ... Served as Cincinnati's No. 1 RG in 2017, then served as a key reserve in '18 and started nine games at three different positions as an injury replacement ... Has played in 46 career games (37 starts) entering 2020, and has started multiple games at all three interior OL positions.
Career transactions: Signed with Cincinnati as college free agent on 5-12-14 ... Waived by Bengals on 9-5-15 ... Signed to Bengals practice squad on 9-6-15 ... Signed to Bengals roster on 1-11-16 ... Waived by Bengals on 9-3-16 ... Re-signed with Bengals on 9-4-16 ... Waived by Bengals on 9-15-16 ... Signed to Bengals practice squad on 9-16-16 ... Signed to Bengals roster on 12-31-16 ... Re-signed with Bengals as restricted free agent on 4-4-19 ... Signed contract extension with Bengals on 12-28-19.
2019 highlights: Entered training camp slotted as a reserve OL, but won Bengals' No. 1 C job with a strong preseason and went on to start all 16 games at C ... Missed just one snap all season, good for a team-high 99.9 percent of offensive snaps ... Aided in blocking effort that helped HB Joe Mixon to his second consecutive 1000-yard rushing season (1137), while also scoring five rushing touchdowns ... Played all 75 offensive snaps in Game 1 at Seattle, and aided blocking effort that helped QB Andy Dalton to career-high 418 passing yards ... Helped Mixon reach 100 yards from scrimmage (109) in Game 5 vs. Arizona ... In Game 9 vs. Baltimore, aided in the blocking effort for Mixon's 114 rushing yards ... In Game 13 at Cleveland, paved way for Mixon's 186 yards from scrimmage, including a career-high 146 yards on 23 carries (6.3 average) and a TD ... Helped a run-heavy Bengals offense in Game 14 vs. New England, when Mixon rushed 25 times for 136 yards ... In Game 16 vs. Cleveland, contributed to blocking effort that sprung Mixon for career-high 162 rushing yards and two TDs.
Previous seasons: 2014—Played in three preseason games, with one start at LG ... Suffered leg injury Aug. 24 at Arizona ... Placed on Reserve/Injured list Aug. 30. 2015—Missed first two preseason games with leg injury, but played in the last two ... On practice squad for Games 1-16 and Wild Card playoff. 2016—Inactive Sept. 11 at N.Y. Jets ... On practice squad for Games 2-15 ... Re-signed to roster prior to season finale and made NFL debut Jan. 1 vs. Baltimore, playing 10 snaps on offense and five on special teams ... Played all four preseason games, with start at LOT in Game 4. 2017—Played in 13 games, with 12 starts at RG ... Inactive Games 2-4 with a knee injury ... Served as Cincinnati's No. 1 RG, after entering season with just one game of prior NFL experience ... Assisted offense in controlling season-high time of possession (35:02) Oct. 1 at Cleveland ... On Oct. 8 vs. Buffalo, aided offense's season-high 388 net yards and QB Andy Dalton's season-high 328 yards passing ... On Nov. 26 vs. Cleveland, supported first career 100-yard rushing game for HB Joe Mixon (23-114) and team's highest net rushing total of season (152 yards) ... On Dec. 24 vs. Detroit, blocked for HB Giovani Bernard's season-high 116 yards rushing and team's season-high 28 first downs. 2018—Played in 16 games, with nine starts ... Served as a key reserve on the OL, and ended up starting games at all three interior OL positions; Started at C for injured starter Billy Price in Games 3-8, started at RG in Game 9, and started at LG in Games 12-13 ... Contributed to blocking effort for HB Joe Mixon, who rushed for AFC-best 1168 yards and became the first Bengal to rush for 1000 yards since Jeremy Hill in 2014 ... On Sept. 13 vs. Baltimore, entered game at C in first quarter as replacement for injured starter Billy Price, and supported blocking effort for offense that scored 28 first-half points and totaled 373 net yards ... On Sept. 30 at Atlanta, aided offense's season-high 407 net yards, including 337 yards passing from QB Andy Dalton.
College: Played four seasons (2010-13) at Texas, appearing in 50 games with 42 starts (28 starts at LG, 14 at ROT) ... Two-time All-Big 12 selection, and earned first-team honors at G in 2013 from Associated Press, Sporting News and ESPN.com ... Started all 13 games in 2013 (12 at LG, one at ROT), and helped offense average 196.2 yards rushing yards per game while allowing just 16 sacks ... Started all 13 games at ROT as a sophomore and helped offense average 202.6 rushing yards and 392.5 yards total offense.
Personal: Hometown is Houston, Texas ... Attended North Shore High School, where he was All-American, all-state, all-area and two-time first-team all-district as a senior ... 2011 Academic All-Big 12 first team selection and named to Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Spring 2011) ... Plays saxophone and clarinet ... Other hobbies include playing Xbox ... Has served as a substitute teacher in Cincinnati during the offseason, teaching math and science in grades 5-8 ... Has performed community service with Maslow's Army (homeless relief), and serves on the organization's board ... Biology major at Texas.
NOTE ABOUT NFL EXPERIENCE: Hopkins did not earn an accrued year of experience toward NFL free agency in 2015 or '16 because he was not on a 53-player roster, a Reserve/Injured list or a Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list for the required minimum of six games in those seasons.
