When it comes to trade talk in the NFL over the past few weeks, most conversations have been centered around Aaron Rodgers, but there's another star player who could soon be on the move and that player is DeAndre Hopkins.
There's been a lot of speculation this offseason that the Cardinals plan to deal away their star receiver and that speculation shot into high gear this week when NFL Media reported that trade "talks are ramping up among the interested teams."
At the time, there were no specific teams named in the report, but it appears we now know the names of at least two teams that have shown interest in Hopkins. According to longtime NFL beat writer Aaron Wilson, the receiver's trade market is "headlined" by the Bills.
If the Bills really are the front-runner, that might help explain why Hopkins decided to randomly play the song "Buffalo Soldier" in an Instagram story this week.
I have no idea what these things mean or not, or if players just do it to mess with people, but this was just posted to DeAndre Hopkins Instagram a few minutes ago: pic.twitter.com/s02iUVpWmH
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) March 22, 2023
Of course, the Bills aren't the only AFC contender that's been eyeing at Hopkins.
According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Chiefs have also shown some interest in Hopkins. After losing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman in free agency, the Chiefs definitely need to add some receiver help and making a trade for Hopkins would qualify as a home run.
When it comes to adding Hopkins, one problem for the Chiefs is that they might not be able to afford him. The receiver has a base salary of $19.45 million in 2023 and the Chiefs only have $7.4 million in cap space. However, that doesn't mean a trade is completely out of the question. As noted by NFL Media, Hopkins might be willing to rework his deal to make a trade happen.
Even if Hopkins doesn't end up in Kansas City, though, it's almost a certainty at this point that he won't be in Arizona much longer, so you'll definitely want to be on the lookout for a trade involving the veteran receiver.
If Hopkins does get dealt, it would mark the second time in his career that he's been traded. After spending the first seven years of his career in Houston, Hopkins was dealt to Arizona in March 2020.
