Von Miller is no stranger to recruiting star recipients. As a member of the Los Angeles Rams, he successfully helped franchise ink Odell Beckham Jr. to a deal after being released from the Cleveland Browns. That signing helped LA reach and eventually win the Super Bowl. Now Miller seems to be at it again, only this time as a member of the Buffalo Bills. Now he has his eyes on Cardinals beyond DeAndre Hopkins.
The five-time Pro Bowl receiver has been the subject of trade rumors this season as Arizona appears to be moving away from him. For his part, Hopkins has been largely silent on these trade talks publicly, and we mean that literally. In a recent interview with CBS Sports’ Bryant McFadden, Hopkins, by just letting us judge his body language, seemed to suggest that he is intrigued by the possibility of joining the Bills. Additionally, Miller has since revealed that Hopkins told him he wants to come to Buffalo.
“I talk to Hop all the time and it’s about the same with OBJ,” Miller said via the buffalo news. “You just never know until you know. Hop said he wanted to be a Buffalo Bill and you never know until you get that DeAndre Hopkins signature on a contract. I’m not sure what the circumstances are or what the hand, but I’d love to see DeAndre Hopkins here and I’d love to use his skills on our offense with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and Dawson Knox and Gabe Davis.”
Adding Hopkins to that offense would be an embarrassment of riches for Buffalo as it continues to push for a deep playoff run in hopes of winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The Hopkins-Diggs duo would be arguably the best receiver combo in the NFL, and that’s not even taking into account Gabe Davis and running backs Damien Harris, James Cook and Nyheim Hines. With all those pieces in mind and with an MVP-caliber quarterback in Josh Allen, it’s no wonder Hopkins would be so enamored with the idea of playing in Buffalo.
The Bills have about $6.5 million in available cap space, so they’d have to do some maneuvering to fit Hopkins (and his $30.7 million cap charge) in, along with sending compensation that allows the Cardinals to put him would let go. This year, Buffalo has six draft picks, including three in the top 100 (No. 27, No. 59, and No. 91). While a first-rounder for Hopkins seems unlikely, it would be interesting to see if a Day 2 roster would be palatable to either side.
No matter how it ended up being done, Hopkins joining forces with Miller and the rest of the Bills would only make them an even more dangerous club in the AFC if it ever came to fruition.