Getty Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chargers at State Farm Stadium on November 27, 2022.
The Buffalo Bills were named as one of the top suitors to land Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, an incredibly exciting development since the franchise is in need of a solid WR2 behind Stefon Diggs, and the veteran would make a great fit.
Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane was asked about possibly trading for Hopkins while speaking to reporters on Monday, March 27, and he seemed to pour a little cold water on the hotly-discussed potential move.
“Social media is social media, don’t take that too far,” Beane said, noting that he gets regular updates on what’s swirling around Twitter. “You know me when we talked about [guys] like OBJ, we’re always going to look for talent. We’re going to look at everything and anything. Our name gets thrown into a lot of things that sometimes we’ve done 1% (of what’s been reported) — one person made one call and they’ve looped us in that we’re all over him and offered him a contract. It’s funny sometimes.”
“That’s as far as I can go into it,” Beane said of possibly landing Hopkins, “You know, he’s on another team.” It’s true that the Bills’ name gets tossed around a lot, especially when it comes to available running backs on the market, but because Hopkins is still under contract with the Cardinals, Beane’s vague response could merely be him trying to avoid a tampering penalty.
Even after signing wide receivers Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty, they’re still searching for “that one significant piece that can put them over the top,” The Athletic wrote on Monday. And if they don’t land Hopkins or land Odell Beckham Jr., “An early-round receiver could be a priority to help the short-term and long-term health of the position.”
Beane’s comment on Hopkins comes two days after ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Arizona will likely need to lower their asking price if they’re genuinely looking to trade the five-time Pro Bowler.
While a trade is expected to happen in the near future, the Cardinals “have to come off their asking price,” Folwer said on SportsCenter. “Talking to other teams, they say that Arizona has wanted a second-round pick and more, maybe even as high as like a Christian McCaffrey package. We’re talking second, third, fourth-round picks. They will probably have to come off that to deal Hopkins, who has got $19 million in salary due to him. So, you still have teams like the Bills and the Chiefs and big-ticket teams that are at least looking, window shopping at potential options at receiver.”
Twitter Had Mixed Reactions to Beane’s Comments
GettyBuffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane looks on before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 25, 2022.
While Syrcase.com reporter Matt Parrino believed Beane’s comments “pumped the brakes” on the Holpkins rumors, Bills Mafia had strongly mixed reactions to his statement. One fan tweeted, “I feel more confident DHop is heavily in talks with the Bills now than I did before hearing this lmao,” while another person wrote, “And Beane said he was done spending money last year and the signed Von Miller basically the next day, so I’ll take all that with a giant grain of salt.”
There’s no doubt that Hopkins would make for a great addition to the Bills roster, but they would need to restructure his contract to make him fit financially. Buffalo had approximately $9.8 million in cap space before agreeing to terms with former Rams safety Taylor Rapp on Monday, and need a good portion of that for the NFL Draft.
Spotrac.com tweeted that “a full cap conversion” along with three void years “can lower his $19.45 cap hit” to a much more manageable $4.8 million for the 2023 NFL season. The Bills would also have to get creative with the $14.915 million salary Hopkins is due in 2024.
Several Bills fans tweeted that adding Beckham would be less complicated from a financial standpoint. The three-time Pro Bowler remains a free agent after Buffalo, along with a dozen other teams, attended his private workout earlier this month. While reports swirled that the 30-year-old was asking for a $20 million salary, Beckham clarified on Twitter last week that he never demanded that kind of money, while also noting that “4 AINT enough.”
While Broncos star Jerry Juedy was also rumored to be a possible trade target for the Bills, Denver’s new head coach Sean Payton announced on Sunday that the 23-year-old receiver would be staying put.
Hopkins Hinted He’d Like to Join the Bills on Instagram
While it is sometimes hard to decipher when athletes share cryptic posts on social media, Hopkins kept things pretty straightforward when he shared a photo of himself on his Instagram Stories with Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier” playing in the background.
The three-time All-Pro receiver would come cheap salary-wise, but according to Fox Sports analyst Henry McKenna, if/when the trade price comes downs to say, “a mid-round pick,” it would be a “no-brainer” for Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane to pounce on the opportunity.
“Frankly, there’s a chance that Hopkins wants to be a Bill more than the Bills want him. Of the teams that are interested in Hopkins from Jones’ list, Buffalo is the most desirable landing spot,” McKenna wrote. “It’s easy to imagine quarterback Josh Allen reigniting the star receiver’s career. It’s easy to imagine Stefon Diggs taking coverage off Hopkins. It would be an absolutely spectacular passing attack.”
