After Arizona Cardinals star DeAndre Hopkins spent months fueling rumors of a possible trade to the Buffalo Bills, the five-time Pro Bowler shared a video on May 1 saying, “I see everybody telling me to stay. Who said I wanna go? Who said I wanna leave?”
The video clip went viral as fans and analysts called him out for gaslighting the situation. While debates over what price and draft stock a team would need to give up in order to land Hopkins swirled across the league, those discussions are now moot.
The Cardinals announced on Friday, May 26 that they have released the three-time, first-team All-Pro from the team.
We have released Deandre Hopkins.
Bills superstar Von Miller, who’s been publicly campaigning to get Hopkins to Buffalo this offseason, immediately reacted the breaking news on Twitter.
The eight-time Pro Bowler kept his reaction brief, simply tweeting the side-eyes emoji, a message which racked up over 4,000 likes within 30 minutes.
The eight-time Pro Bowler also shared an image on his Instagram Stories that appeared to show Hopkins having thought bubble with a buffalo inside.
DHop’s thoughts, according to @VonMiller 🦬
Miller told reporters last month, “Hop says he wants to be a Buffalo Bill. I would love to see DeAndre Hopkins be here and I would love to have his skill set on our offense with Josh Allen Stefon Diggs and Dawson Knox and Gabe Davis. How could we lose with those guys?”
Imagine this potential Bills offense 😮
While there will be several teams interested in signing Hopkins, Cardinals beat reporter Darren Urban announced Hopkins release on the team’s official website with an opening anecdote about the Bills.
Urban wrote about one of the receiver’s “most memorable quote in Arizona,” which came during a game against Buffalo in 2020. After catching his famous “Hail Murray” touchdown against the Bills, he said during a postgame Zoom session, “It was just a better catch by I.”
DeAndre Hopkins Basically Described the Bills While Discussing the Type of Franchise He’d Love to Join
In Hopkins’ recent interview with I Am ATHLETE, he once again strongly insinuated a desire to join Buffalo’s roster. When asked which quarterback “he’d love” to play with “for the second part” of his career, Hopkins’ first answer was Allen.
DeAndre Hopkins was asked on @IAMATHLETEpod which QBs he’d love to have throwing him the ball.
#Bills QB Josh Allen was quickly his first answer.
Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert rounded out his top-5.
“Oh, that’s a good question,” Hopkins said. “I would have to say one of my favorite quarterbacks that I’ve been watching since he came into the league is Josh Allen. Josh Allen reminds me of a new school Andrew Luck. I love Josh Allen.” He rounded out his Top 5 answers with Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, and Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
When asked about which franchises showed interest this offseason while Arizona was shopping him around, Hopkins said the Bills were one of those teams, although he did not have direct contract with them.
“What I want is stable management upstairs. I think that’s something I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona. I’ve been through three or four GMs in my career, so a stable management,” Hopkins said of what would be his ideal team.” A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself but everybody around him… and a great defense. A great defense wins championships.”
Can the Bills Afford to Sign DeAndre Hopkins?
GettyCardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins during the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on October 24, 2021.
Hopkins’ massive contract, which included a $19.45 million salary for the 2023 NFL season, and $14.92 million in 2024, is no longer a deterrence for teams looking to sign the 30-year-old receiver. However, at this point in the offseason, the Bills have made several moves in free agency, signed six players during the NFL Draft, and according to OvertheCap.com, only have $1.46 million in cap space.
However, Bills general manager Brandon Beane could restructure the contracts of Dion Dawkins and/or Tre White to create room for Hopkins, per Cover 1 host Gregg Thompsett.
NFL analyst Mike Giardi tweeted on Friday, “Buffalo has had interest. The Patriots have had interest. Best I can tell, no one believes he is what he once was, and that will be part of the challenge in acquiring the player. A couple of teams I spoke with before the draft believe $$$ will be the driver in this, more so than I would say the OBJ contract is looked at as a positive by Hopkins if he’s looking to chase every dollar (which I don’t begrudge. And in this comp, Hopkins is the better player, IMO).”
Per Bleacher Report, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter on May 19 that OBJ’s one-year, $15 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens made Hopkins rethink his stance on what he’s owed.
“This issue really is money… If you’re Hopkins, you’re saying: ‘Hey, I’m more qualified, I’ve done a little more than Beckham. I can’t take less than that, take a huge pay cut to go to a contender.’ But you still have Buffalo, Kansas City, teams who could be looking for a receiver.”
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Bills Star’s Reaction to DeAndre Hopkins Release Goes Viral