Bills WR Dream Fading: DeAndre Hopkins to Sign with Patriots?
After once being considered a leading contender in the race to sign free-agent receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the Buffalo Bills have seemingly never gotten past the starting line.
Yet, the chances of Hopkins joining the AFC East are still in play, though instead of Buffalo, he is "mulling" over an offer from Bills' rival, the New England Patriots, according to the latest report from ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
"There's a lull in action right now," Fowler said recently on ESPN's Sportscenter. "Training camp's not for a month, not a lot of rush. ... I'm told there is some mutual interest and respect between the Patriots and Hopkins, that something could go down, but they couldn't get that deal done while he was on the visit."
Fowler isn't breaking new ground here; PatriotsCountry.com at SI has covered the Hopkins-to-Foxboro story in depth (while also wondering what the holdup might be.) We know the Patriots and Tennessee Titans have hosted him on a visit since he was released from the Arizona Cardinals. Additionally, Bills general manager Brandon Beane has hinted at the possibility of his team not going after Hopkins from the beginning.
“It would definitely have to fit with how we would restructure the salary and all that, so never ruling it out,” Beane said while on “The Pat McAfee Show” shortly after Hopkins's release. “I know he’s a good player and he’ll likely demand a decent contract.”
That "decent" contract is not something the Bills are choosing to afford, as they currently have just $5 million of cap room. Could that change? If the rumors of current Bills receiver Stefon Diggs being "frustrated" with the franchise due to their non-pursuit of Hopkins are at all true, maybe Diggs could persuade Beane to rethink his stance on the former All-Pro receiver. But that seems the longest shot of all.
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