Wesley Carl Hopkins (September 26, 1961 – September 28, 2018) was an American professional football player who played as a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

during his entire 11-year

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

career from 1983 through 1993. A walk-on for the Southern Methodist football team, he was first noticed by coaches and teammates during a team practice after he made a ferocious tackle on his college teammate and future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

running back Eric Dickerson. Hopkins was named to the All-Conference selection in each of his last two seasons at SMU.

NFL career

Hopkins was drafted by the Eagles in the second round (35th pick overall) of the 1983 NFL draft and started 14 games at free safety as a rookie. In 1985, he had a career-high 6 interceptions (including one for a touchdown) was voted Most Valuable Player on the Eagles defense and was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

. In 1988, he was voted the Eagles Ed Block Courage Award winner. As part of the Eagles vaunted "Gang Green" defense, the safety tandem of Hopkins and strong safety Andre Waters lasted from 1986 to 1993. With Buddy Ryan as head coach from 1986 to 1990, the tandem were considered one of the hardest hitting and most feared safety duos in the NFL. Hopkins retired after the 1993 season and finished his career with 30 interceptions, 12 sacks and 1 touchdown.

Death

Hopkins died on September 28, 2018, at age 57. He reportedly had been in failing health for a couple of months. Former teammate Harvey Armstrong said he is fairly certain that Hopkins was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that has been found in more than 100 former NFL players whose families donated their brains for research. "He just went into a shell, much like Andre (Waters) did," Armstrong said. "You could see some of the things he was dealing with. The depression and the anxiety and the other things that CTE causes."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Wes 1961 births 2018 deaths American football safeties National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Philadelphia Eagles players SMU Mustangs football players