Bills Falling Out of DeAndre Hopkins Sweepstakes?

The Buffalo Bills could be at risk of losing out on free agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins due to salary cap concerns.

DeAndre Hopkins, arguably the league's hottest free agent right now, is on record prior to his release from the Arizona Cardinals that he would like to play with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Hopkins stated this desire in an interview with the I AM ATHLETE podcast, where he listed four other quarterbacks as well. 

So we know that Hopkins would like to play in Buffalo if the Bills were to make him an offer, but the real question is if the team has the interest and the means financially to get a deal done.

The Bills have just $7 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap, which is way short of what many projects it will cost to sign Hopkins. With the cap being a potential problem, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer's latest update on the Hopkins saga is less optimistic for Bills fans.

“At this point, I’d say [the Bills and Chiefs] would sign him only at a discount,” Breer writes. “The Chiefs gave money that would’ve gone to Hopkins to left tackle Donovan Smith. The Bills traded up for Dalton Kincaid, lessening their need for a chain-moving receiver and giving them another mouth to feed in an offense that has to get the ball plenty to Stefon Diggs."

While one could argue Breer is correct, it doesn't account for the possibility of the Bills making room for Hopkins to sign. If general manager Brandon Beane wants to pull some financial levers, the Bills could get additional cap space to sign the star wide-receiver.

But as Breer noted, the Bills may already be satisfied with the play-makers they have on offense after drafting tight end Dalton Kincaid. Buffalo has its No. 1 option in Stefon Diggs, along with a rotating cast of players who can be that No. 2 option like Gabe Davis, Dawson Knox, and potentially Kincaid.

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