Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been the subject of trade rumors for months but general manager Monti Ossenfort doused the flames with cold water Thursday night. According to ESPN, Ossenfort said "I don't foresee that happening...DeAndre's a Cardinal and we're moving forward."
Bills edge rusher Von Miller has been publicly advocating for Buffalo to acquire the standout pass catcher. Miller is no stranger to recruiting star receivers. As a member of the Los Angeles Rams, he successfully helped the franchise ink Odell Beckham Jr. to a deal after he was released from the Cleveland Browns. That signing helped L.A. reach and ultimately win the Super Bowl. Now, Miller seems to be at it again, only this time as a member of the Buffalo Bills. Now he has his eyes set on Hopkins.
The five-time Pro Bowl receiver has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason as Arizona looks to possibly move off him. For his part, Hopkins has largely remained silent publicly about these trade talks, and we mean that literally. In a recent interview with CBS Sports' Bryant McFadden, Hopkins, by merely having us judge his body language, did seem to suggest he's intrigued about the possibility of joining the Bills. On top of that, Miller has since revealed Hopkins has told him he wants to come to Buffalo.
"It'd be great," Miller told CBS Sports HQ Spotlight on Tuesday of the possibility of being teammates with Hopkins in Buffalo. "It'd be great to have great players on your team, especially my boys. Especially like an Odell Beckman -- You know, Odell went to the Ravens. Or DeAndre Hopkins. Both of these are my guys. It just means a little bit more when your guys have an opportunity to play for a team that you're on, man.
“We know he wants to be a Buffalo Bill.”
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) April 25, 2023
Von Miller says adding DeAndre Hopkins would put Bills ‘over the top.’
Do y’all agree? pic.twitter.com/kIhh2c9qRd
"It's not like I'm lying to him. We have a great team. We got Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Dawson Knox, Damien Harris, James Cook, our offensive line got better as well. Dion Dawkins is already one of the best left tackles in the league and we add Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, we got Spencer Brown back. You know, we got a great team. ... Man, you know, that will put us over the top."
Miller went on to add that Hopkins could be the piece to help put the Bills "over the top" and that he wants to be in Buffalo.
"He knows we want him here and we know he wants to be a Buffalo Bill," he said. "There's so many things that go into really making those things happen, but I feel like we're in a good position to get it done."
Adding Hopkins into that offense would be an embarrassment of riches for Buffalo as it continues to push for a deep playoff run in hopes of winning the franchise's first Super Bowl. The Hopkins-Diggs duo would arguably be the top receiver combo in the NFL, and that's not even accounting for Gabe Davis and running backs Damien Harris, James Cook and Nyheim Hines. With all those pieces in mind and having an MVP-caliber quarterback in Josh Allen, it's no wonder why Hopkins is said to be enamored with the idea of playing in Buffalo.
The Bills have about $6.5 million in available cap space, so they'd need to do some maneuvering to fit Hopkins (and his $30.7 million cap charge) in along with sending out compensation that would have the Cardinals let him go. This year, Buffalo has six draft picks, including three inside the top 100 (No. 27, No. 59, and No. 91). While a first-rounder for Hopkins seems unlikely, it would be interesting to see if a Day 2 selection would be palatable for both sides.
No matter how it'd ultimately get done, Hopkins joining forces with Miller and the rest of the Bills would only make them an even more dangerous club in the AFC if it ever came to fruition.
