Bills vs. Chiefs Again: AFC Rivals Had 'Substantive' DeAndre Hopkins Trade Talks

The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs reportedly took their battle to the transaction log, as they were the only teams to have advanced trade talks for DeAndre Hopkins' services.

Like any great pairing of adversaries, it feels like the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are destined to go at it forever.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Bills were interested in acquiring since-released receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Arizona Cardinals long before they were among the many hypothetical contestants for his services in free agency.

Breer said that the Bills were one of two teams to engage in "substantive" discussions with Arizona ... the other being the Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions and the Bills' rival for modern AFC supremacy.

🏈 More on @DeAndreHopkins 🏈

• The Chiefs and Bills were the only teams to have substantive trade talks with Arizona.

• As was the case with Kansas City, contract was the issue for Buffalo.

• KC made progress, but @OBJ's deal ($15M base) more or less blew that progress up.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 27, 2023

Breer says that both sides were wary of the contract, one only complicated by the $15 million single-year deal bestowed to Odell Beckham Jr. in Baltimore. 

While the newly-introduced Hopkins sweepstakes should make for an interesting chapter in the Buffalo-Kansas City epic, an outright release made his case for Western New York or Missouri, however, complicate matters thanks to the potential money involved. Breer explains that "under (the) current circumstances, (it's) unlikely KC or Buffalo go get him" now that an outright new deal will be required. Hopkins is said to be seeking elite dollars in excess of $20 million. 

Since 2020, the Bills and Chiefs have engaged in some of the highest-stakes games the NFL schedule has had to offer. In five meetings in that span, Kansas City owns a 3-2 advantage, including a pair of postseason matchups. This Hopkins affair, however, appears to be a stalemate for the time being. 

The Bills have a chance to even the series in December, as they'll travel to Kansas City to do battle in Week 14.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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