The NFL’s marquee free agent of the moment, DeAndre Hopkins has consistently mentioned the Bills and Chiefs as appealing destinations. But the free agent wide receiver may not be prepared to take a steep discount to play with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.
Hopkins is seeking a contract in the neighborhood of the deal Odell Beckham Jr. received from the Ravens, Tim Graham of The Athletic notes (subscription required). In one of this offseason’s most surprising accords, Beckham received a fully guaranteed one-year, $15MM deal from Baltimore in April. Incentives can bump the earnings to $18MM. Beckham securing this money despite missing the 2022 season and having suffered two ACL tears since October 2020 surely has Hopkins believing he is worth more.
With that offer, the then-receiver-needy Ravens outflanked the Jets by what is believed to be a wide margin for Beckham. New York was proposing an incentive-laden deal. Beckham did well to collect that money before teams made draft investments. Funding is tighter post-draft, and June is not a great time for free agents to cash in. That said, six teams will be picking up cap room Friday due to post-June 1 cuts. The Bills and Chiefs are not among them, however.
The Bills negotiated with the Cardinals on Hopkins, and Graham adds GM Brandon Beane spoke directly with the available wideout — whom Arizona shopped for months — before he signed with Klutch Sports. With the Bills holding just $1.4MM in cap space, multiple executives informed Graham that Hopkins is a long shot to end up in Buffalo. The Chiefs hold even less cap room, sitting on barely $600K.
Given how many times Hopkins has mentioned the Bills this offseason, the three-time reigning AFC East champs should not exactly be considered out of the running. But a league exec that communicated with Hopkins’ camp does not expect the former All-Pro’s interest in playing with Mahomes or Allen to supersede interest in being fairly compensated. As the Chiefs and Bills negotiated with the Cardinals, Beckham’s contract hijacked those respective talks. The Bills have been connected to Hopkins since March.
Previous reports have pegged the Bills and Chiefs as the Hopkins favorites, but each would need to move some money around to land the veteran wideout. While it is still unlikely Hopkins will fetch a $15MM guarantee — due to the Cardinals cutting the 10-year vet late in the offseason and injuries plaguing him over the past two years — the Clemson alum will soon need to decide how important his fourth contract will be compared to a desire to play with a top-tier quarterback.
The Browns have loomed as a stealth Hopkins suitor, with Deshaun Watson having discussed his former Texans teammate with Cleveland brass. Watson has said he would love to have Hopkins on the Browns, and Cleveland will soon hold nearly $16MM in cap space. The Browns traded for Elijah Moore and have three recent third-round picks (Cedric Tillman, David Bell, Anthony Schwartz) supplementing Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
The Chiefs and Bills have clearer needs at the position. Kansas City lost its top 2022 wideout — JuJu Smith-Schuster — due to a stronger New England offer and also let Mecole Hardman walk. The Chiefs’ belief in Kadarius Toney as a potential No. 1 wideout overlooks a concerning injury history. The Bills did not add a wideout until Round 5 (Justin Shorter) in the draft, though they did sign slot player Deonte Harty, and have Gabriel Davis in a contract year. Buffalo is still planning to use first-round tight end Dalton Kincaid frequently in the slot.
Hopkins, 31 next week, has collected more than $111MM since entering the NFL as a 2013 first-round pick. He signed a five-year, $81MM Texans deal in 2017, and the Cardinals tacked two years (and $42.75MM guaranteed) onto that deal via a $54.5MM extension in 2020. While Hopkins should not be begrudged for seeking fair compensation, it would be interesting to see if he passes on a Bills or Chiefs partnership if one or both teams have lower-cost offers on the table. But Buffalo and Kansas City’s cap situations do, then, keep the door open for other interested teams.
I would be happy to get him at the right circumstance, but the Bills are already 30 million over the cap for 2024. That does not include Ed Oliver or Gabe Davis. ( though I personally believe a Hopkins acquisition leads to Davis being let go )
Hopkins isnt an elite athlete and will be 32.
Its not the worst thing to let this go. I get it. Its just not there.
If he goes to KC, fine. Im not letting KC dictate my salary cap. Let them take all the risk. It could be great, it could be very regrettable but Von Miller is already on the books and can be regrettable too.
32 next tear. Sorry
You’ve got the right attitude. What will the Bills have to give up to have Hopkins on the roster? The only strategy which would work would be to trade away a high cap star and take on Hopkins instead.
Might be worth it.
Yeah Hopkins would be a way better choice than Davis he kinda stinks. I think D-Hop would be a great fit there, another receiver would hopefully help with those gaudy turnover numbers from the last few years
Hopkins is another player who’s become a diva because “I wanna win a ring!!!!”
Kansas City has no need for Hopkins — they signed Richie James, who was with the Giants last term and shared the team lead in receptions.
He’s worth minimum to chase a ring in kc and if he wants more than that he can sign somewhere else and won’t ever get a ring
I think that Hopkins is worth much more than the minimum, but absolutely is not worth a top flight deal right now. He cannot realistically expect to satisfy both of his demands here-getting a $15+ million deal, and going to the best two or three teams in the league is ludicrous.
Of course, this may be just a smoke and mirrors leak to raise Hopkins’ price, but no team in the top five in terms of playoff expectations will be able to afford that deal and keep the pieces that they already need to facilitate it. Hopkins is going to have to pick which option he really wants, as he will also likely have a reduced role in whichever of those contenders decides to sign him.
I’m also looking for a $15m/year deal.
Don’t say that, arty. You’re worth $22 million, easy.
I’d settle for splitting it down the middle $19.5m.
Lamar would like DHop on the Ravens roster. DeCosta can make it happen. Cap space is almost there.
The Lions could be a good option. That have money and at least a six-week need, considering JWill’s gambling habits.
So as much as I like Big Ed (Oliver) I would trade him (maybe to the Lions) for a draft pick. I’d love to get a 3rd (since that’s what we would likely get in a compensatory pick) but to clear the $10M cap space to get DHop I’d take as low as a 5th with maybe an additional pick swap at our discretion. Then we could extend DaQuan Jones to lower his cap hit. Jones, Poona Ford, Tim Settle, and Jordan Phillips is a good DT group. Plus we can kick Shaq Lawson and Boogie Basham inside when necessary.
Im ambivalent on Oliver returning. I like him, but he isnt a top tier player, and it feels like he wants that money.
I think Bills mafia might collectively feel different if he was a 2nd or 3rd round pick instead of a top 10 pick.
Trading him opens up another hole, and that makes zero sense.
Its not as simple as Shaq or Boogie flipping inside.
Cleveland is the landing spot – as they love bad apples.