With less than two weeks until the 2023 NFL Draft, the DeAndre Hopkins trade saga remains an ongoing affair. While the Arizona Cardinals‘ initial asking price for Hopkins was reportedly a second-round pick and change, there’s little to no chance they’ll receive that sort of package.
In fact, it’s entirely possible that the Cardinals have to end up releasing Hopkins rather than trading him. As they embark on a rebuild, Arizona is in no place to roster a 31-year-old receiver with a $19.45 million base salary in 2023.
Either way, the latest rumors surrounding Hopkins have tied to him two potential suitors: the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens.
Von Miller Says DeAndre Hopkins Wants To Join the Bills
Count the Bills among the teams that can’t afford Hopkins’ salary without some sort of restructure. Buffalo has just $5.5 million in salary cap space, so they’d need Hopkins to either agree to a pay cut or rework his deal.
Still, all the details aside, the Bills could potentially be interested in adding Hopkins to their already-explosive offense. And Buffalo edge rusher Von Miller says Hopkins is interested in becoming his teammate.
“I talk to Hop all the time, and it’s kind of like the same thing with OBJ,” Miller said, according to the Buffalo News. “You just never know until you know. Hop said he wanted to be a Buffalo Bill, and you never know until you get that DeAndre Hopkins signature on a contract.
“I’m not sure what the circumstances are or what’s going on with that, but I would love to see DeAndre Hopkins be here, and I would love to have his skill set on our offense with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and Dawson Knox and Gabe Davis.”
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Hopkins recently appeared on the All Things Covered podcast and indicated he’d be willing to join the Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs but not the New England Patriots or New York Jets. While Hopkins’ no-trade clause was voided when he was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, his exorbitant contract gives him de facto control over his next landing spot.
Asked about the Hopkins-to-Buffalo rumors at the Scouting Combine, Bills general manager Brandon Beane downplayed his club’s interest.
“Our name gets thrown in the hat on a lot of things that sometimes we’ve done one percent,” Beane said. “One person made one call, and they’ve looped us in that we’re all over him, and we’ve offered him a contract. It’s funny sometimes.”
Ravens Could Be a Suitor For Hopkins
Meanwhile, the Ravens might still be searching for wide receivers even after signing Odell Beckham Jr. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, former NFL cornerback Pacman Jones said that Hopkins to Baltimore “could still happen.”
Jones isn’t exactly a reporter, but he is close with Hopkins. In March, he listed the Ravens among five teams that could be interested in Hopkins, including the Bills, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.
Baltimore is in an even worse cap situation than the Bills. If they acquired Hopkins, they’d likely have to rework his deal, potentially adding multiple void years as they did with Beckham.
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Were the Ravens to land Hopkins, it would all but ensure Lamar Jackson would play for the club in 2023, either under the terms of his franchise tag or on a long-term deal. Jackson reportedly recruited OBJ to Baltimore, and it seems unlikely that Hopkins would agree to join the Ravens unless he was assured Lamar would be the team’s quarterback.
Baltimore’s wide receiver situation was abysmal last season. With Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay both hampered by injuries, career NFL journeyman Demarcus Robinson ended up as the Ravens’ leading wide receiver.
While Baltimore likely overpaid for Beckham, he’s a legitimate NFL wide receiver. If the Ravens can land Hopkins and give Jackson a pass-catching depth chart that also includes OBJ, Bateman, and tight end Mark Andrews and is coordinated by first-year play-caller Todd Monken, they could quickly become one of the more formidable offenses in the league.