Bills Central

DeAndre Derby: Can Bills Beat Several Suitors For Ex-Cardinals WR?

Whether "leading" or "lurking", the Buffalo Bills have plenty of competition to sign coveted free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Richie Whitt

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At this point in the DeAndre Hopkins Sweepstakes, it's almost necessary to ask which NFL team doesn't think it's going to sign him. Because seems like everyone - including the Buffalo Bills - believe they have the inside track.

Hopkins is The Bachelor, and teams are elbowing each other in line for his rose.

The New England Patriots think they're going to sign him, because what was on his TV last weekend. The Dallas Cowboys think they're going to sign him, because owner Jerry Jones always like to make splash signings. And then there are the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, the purported odds-on favorites that are apparently in an "arms race" for the talented receiver.

Some say the Bills are leading; others suggest they are merely "lurking."

Since being released by the Arizona Cardinal last week, the 30-year-old receiver has had too many suitors and supposed ideal landing spots to keep up with.

The five-time All-Pro still can be that 1,000-yard receiver if he can stay on the field, something that's been an issue as of late. Injuries hindered him in 2021, as he played just 10 games, followed by just nine this past season due to a six-game suspension to start the season.

Yet teams are scrambling to present their best selves to Hopkins, and most - not all, but most - analysts believe it's going to come down to either the Bills or Chiefs. The rivalry between the two organizations has now been extended beyond the football field.

"My money would still be on the Bills or the Chiefs working something out," ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said Monday. "I still suspect that you have two contenders in the AFC that are sort of trying to combat each other, make sure one doesn't get Hopkins over the other, so it's a little bit of an arms race there."

With Buffalo linebacker Von Miller as head recruiter, the Bills might be willing to bend their salary cap to land Hopkins.

"We got a lot of talent over there man, but I think I think DeAndre Hopkins would put it over the top," Miller said last month. "I think that would be huge for us."

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Richie Whitt
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