The Arizona Cardinals announced a shocking DeAndre Hopkins release on Friday, making him a free agent for any team to sign. Hopkins has wanted out of the desert after last season, and he says stability, winning, and playing with a top-notch quarterback are the most important things to him right now. If that’s the case, he couldn’t do much better than inking a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. Here’s why a DeAndre Hopkins-Chiefs pact is something the defending Super Bowl champs need to pursue.
3. The Chiefs receiving corps isn’t great ahead of the 2023 NFL season
After trading Tyreek Hill last offseason, the Chiefs; wide receiver situation wasn’t that great heading into 2022, yet Patrick Mahomes made it works and won a Super Bowl with the pass-catchers he had.
Last season, JuJu Smith-Schuster stepped into the WR1 role and led the team’s wideouts with 78 catches and 933 yards while also adding three touchdowns.
Behind Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 42 catches, 687 yards, and two TDs, Mecole Hardman recorded 24 catches, 297 yards, and four TDs, rookie Skyy Moore was next with 22 catches, 250 yards, and no TDs, Justin Watson finished with 15 catches, 315 yards, and two TDs, and in just seven games with the team, Kadarius Toney went for 14 catches, 171 yards, and two TDs.
Now, Smith-Schuster and Hardman are gone, replaced by rookie second-round pick out of SMU, Rashee Rice.
That’s not exactly a murderer’s row of wideouts for Mahomes to throw to. He still has Travis Kelce and Isaiah Pacheco, and they will be the primary pass catchers next season. Still, it would be helpful for the Chiefs to have a WR1 (or even a legit WR3) at this point.
After the Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins release, a player like that could fall into their lap, and the team will only have to give up money, not draft picks. For the Chiefs, though, that could be an issue.
2. A DeAndre Hopkins-Chiefs deal shouldn’t kill the salary cap
If re-signing a player happened in a vacuum, the Chiefs would have loved to ink Tyreek Hill to a massive extension last offseason. However, there are salary cap ramifications of every move, and Hill would have taken up too much of said cap.
Kansas City made a decision that they were only going to give big money to crucial superstars at the most premium positions in football. That means paying QB Patrick Mahomes, TE Travis Kelce, and DL Chris Jones.
There just wasn’t enough room to sign Hill to a big contract.
The good news about a potential DeAndre Hopkins-Chiefs pairing in 2023 is that if the WR truly wants to win with a stable franchise like he says he does, he could be willing to accept a deal far lower than his market value.
Hopkins was set to earn over $16 million next season, and Spotrac sets his market value at a whopping $23.2 million per season. If he’s serious about winning, though, he will take less from a Super Bowl favorite like the Chiefs.
1. To keep him away from the Buffalo Bills
Speaking of the Super Bowl, the Chiefs enter as the odds-on favorite to win it again in 2024. According to FanDuel, the Chiefs are +600, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles at +850, followed by the Buffalo Bills at +900.
That last number is a problem for the Chiefs.
For the last several years, Josh Allen and the Bills have been breathing down the Chiefs’ necks. Patrick Mahomes and company (and Joe Burrow last season) have held them off when it matters most in the playoffs, but Buffalo is still a major threat.
Ahead of the Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins release, when most thought there would be a trade, the wideout spoke glowingly of Allen and the Bills on multiple occasions, and the team seemed to be the favorite to get him.
A DeAndre Hopkins-Chiefs marriage would help Kansas City, no doubt. However, the biggest reason for the Chiefs to sign him is to keep him off of the Bills roster. With Stefon Diggs and Hopkins — along with 2023 NBD Draft first-round pick TE Dalton Kincaid — the Bills offense could jump up a level and possibly even surpass the Chiefs’ if they make this deal.
After their run of dominance over the last few years, the Chiefs shouldn’t be scared of anyone. That said, when you can improve your team while hurting (or at least stalling) one of your biggest rivals, why not jump at that chance?
It’s just smart business for the Chiefs to hurt the Bills while helping themselves by signing DeAndre Hopkins this offseason if the price is right.
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