Latest On Bills’ DeAndre Hopkins Pursuit

After discussing trade terms with the Cardinals, the Bills were initially one of the frontrunners to land DeAndre Hopkins as a free agent. GM Brandon Beane spoke with the veteran wide receiver, but for the most part, Buffalo stayed out of these summer sweepstakes.

Hopkins opted for a two-year, $26MM Titans deal that can max out at $32MM. By all accounts, the Bills were not planning to go near the base price here. The Patriots and Chiefs also stood down, though it sounds like both these teams were bigger players for the 11th-year veteran than the Bills ended up being.

The Bills surfaced early as Hopkins suitors and joined the Chiefs as being the only known teams to discuss a swap with the Cardinals. The Ravens’ Odell Beckham Jr.  contract squashed the talks between the Cards and the AFC powers, and Hopkins — after hoping teams would drive up the market — looks to have gotten his wish. That said, we have not learned the guarantees yet.

The makeup of Buffalo’s pass-catching corps may also have contributed to the team staying away here. Hopkins averaged 10 targets per game in 2020 and 10.7 per contest last season, and Albert Breer of SI.com notes the high-profile free agent being a volume-type receiver is believed to have impacted the Bills, who have one of the best — in Stefon Diggs — atop their receiving hierarchy. The Bills using a first-round pick on Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid, whom Breer adds is expected to play the slot role the team was likely targeting Hopkins to man, also may have affected its desire to add Hopkins.

Joining the Chiefs near the bottom of the NFL in cap space for several weeks, the Bills also were believed to have a firm price point. They also have seen Diggs generate early drama, being sent home from the team’s first minicamp day. While Sean McDermott and Josh Allen have submitted strong “Nothing to see here; please disperse” routines regarding Diggs, the star wideout has yet to discuss his issues with the team publicly. Adding Hopkins to this equation would have introduced another complication, though it would have probably upgraded the defending AFC East champions’ arsenal. Bills brass also had good conversations with Hopkins, per Breer, but Gabe Davis remains in place as the team’s No. 2 wide receiver.

Other teams in this mix did feel Hopkins would have taken less money from the Chiefs or another high-level contender had the money not moved to OBJ-level territory, Breer adds. With the the receiver-needy Titans ponying up, Hopkins will be back in the AFC South and in a No. 1-type role again.