Bills Continue to Recruit DeAndre Hopkins: 'It's Time!'

Members of the Buffalo Bills are making their interest in DeAndre Hopkins known, but the team will have to make moves to afford him.

The biggest news coming out of Memorial Day weekend was the release of star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins by the Arizona Cardinals. Despite the Buffalo Bills being one of the two teams to hold "substantive" talks with the Cardinals prior to their release of Hopkins, the team decided to cut ties.

Since the release of Hopkins, the Bills have emerged as one of the favorites to sign the star play-maker, boasting 6/1 odds from BetOnline. But the Bills locker room is already doing its part to convince Hopkins that he should put the pen to paper and move to Buffalo. 

Defensive end Shaq Lawson put out a tweet on Friday telling Hopkins that he thinks it is time for a reunion between the two.

"D hop it's time for us to get back together," Lawson tweeted.

D hop it’s time for us to get back together.

— Shaq Lawson (@Shaq_Lawson90) May 26, 2023

Even offensive tackle Dion Dawkins got in on the recruiting effort, mentioning Hopkins in a tweet, telling him that he has a locker right next to his for him. 

We know the locker room wants Hopkins, and we assume that the front office is also interested. Can a potential deal work out financially? 

Looking at the Bills' current cap space via OverTheCap, Buffalo cannot afford Hopkins as they have just $1.4 million remaining to spend this offseason. But that is without pulling any financial levers, which they have the option to do in the time ahead. 

Looking at the numbers provided by OverTheCap, the Bills can free up over $16 million in additional cap space just by restructuring three contracts, those being the deals of Dawkins, center Mitch Morse and cornerback Tre'Davious White. 

Assuming Hopkins will take a contract similar to what the Baltimore Ravens gave Odell Beckham Jr. this offseason, it would give the Bills enough to add the former first-round pick to a receiving corps that already includes Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. 

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