Bills Trade for DeAndre Hopkins: Is Problem Really ‘Insurmountable’?

Know the bottom line here: It's not that the Buffalo Bills "can't afford'' DeAndre Hopkins. It's that the Buffalo Bills are "choosing to not afford'' DeAndre Hopkins.

It’s not that the NFL salary cap is a “myth.” It’s as real as your household budget. But it also allows for tremendous present flexibility if a team is later willing to “pay the piper,” to accept the inevitable financial punishment for having once gone “all-in.”

And that - to put a very fine point on it is why the Buffalo Bills haven’t traded for star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

The Bills have often been named as a top suitor for Hopkins, the unhappy Cardinals standout. Bills star Von Miller fanned the flames by suggesting that Hopkins’ preferred landing spot is Buffalo.

But there is traction now. The Cardinals are talking about keeping him and Hopkins is talking cryptically about how he may have never really wanted to leave Arizona in the first place.

And what is the Bills position here? The astute Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News believes a will not happen because of what he calls an "insurmountable'' obstacle.

“The financial hurdle, in my mind, is unsurmountable,” Skurski writes. “Hopkins simply costs too much money, and the Bills would have to perform some serious salary cap gymnastics to make his current deal work. That’s if Hopkins were to play on his current deal. Chances are, if he’s traded, he’s going to want a new contract.”

For simplicity's sake: Hopkins is essentially a $20 million APY receiver. That's not "too much''; it's the going rate. But here is where Skurski is very right - if we read between the Bills' lines. ... because while "the Bills would have to perform some serious salary cap gymnastics'' ... the Bills can absolutely do exactly that if they choose to do so.

And Buffalo is choosing to not do so. GM Brandon Beane has spoken openly about wanting to create cap balance in a way that keeps the Bills on a high plateau of contention over the long term. Now, recent Super Bowl champs the Rams and the Bucs can argue that there way is better, and that is a subject for great debate.

But know the bottom line here: It's not that the Buffalo Bills "can't afford'' DeAndre Hopkins. It's that the Buffalo Bills are choosing to not afford DeAndre Hopkins.

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