Hopkins released by Arizona (7/16: signed by Titans)

[Chandler#81]

5 hours ago, arcadia bob said:

Do know if he is still his agent,,,,Sorry if true i was told the wrong intel but I trust this guy maybe he's wrong

The article says he hired his lawyer -which could mean his BM. You still may be correct, imo.

Agent/BM/Lawyer? Gobbledegook jargon. The guy is his representative.

[Chandler#81]

5 hours ago, Fan in Chicago said:

I absolutely  loved this.  Let's make this happen.  Idc about mortgaging the future.  Make this our year,  go all in

I completely agree. After seeing ZERO League champions since we shut out the Chargers in back to back AFL championships, I want/need/can’t die until we win a Vince Lombardi Trophy. If it means the team completely dissolves immediately following the Downtown Super Bowl Parade, oh well🤷‍♂️ We’ll own a Lombardi and every member of the team and staff will never pay for another drink again.

GET IT DONE!

[newcam2012]

3 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

The Saints did it every year until Drew Brees retired and then they took their medicine. It was never a problem for them in their elite QB window. Beane himself did it when he took over the Bills, spent 1-2 seasons tearing the roster down and getting the cap into good shape. This is a billion dollar operation with a cash-rich owner... they will figure it out. You're correct that some day we will need to account for previous spending but that day is much further into the future than you make it out to be.

 

The reality is that most teams only have about 5 players that really belong in the "core" of the team. The rest are guys that spend no more than 2-3 years on the team or guys on rookie deals. So spending future cap space on Hopkins is not going to drastically change the fundamental structure of the team. At worst it will merely push out some of those 2nd and 3rd tier guys that aren't in the long-term plans anyways. The core will remain.

 

For example by adding Hopkins I think it becomes almost impossible to extend Ed Oliver or Gabe Davis next year no matter how well they play. But neither of these players appear to be in our long-term plans regardless. They are caught in the same position that Edmunds was in last year. When you're paying a QB you can't pay above market value for average or lower production which is exactly what guys like Edmunds and Davis and Oliver end up securing in free agency. A player like Hopkins on the contrary is not easily replaceable and has legitimate season-changing production. Pushing out some of our roster's middle class in exchange for an upper class player is a net positive. That's the "poison pill" you're worried about.

Fantastic post!

[TAinLack.]

2 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

I completely agree. After seeing ZERO League champions since we shut out the Chargers in back to back AFL championships, I want/need/can’t die until we win a Vince Lombardi Trophy. If it means the team completely dissolves immediately following the Downtown Super Bowl Parade, oh well🤷‍♂️ We’ll own a Lombardi and every member of the team and staff will never pay for another drink again.

GET IT DONE!

Yup, "Just Once In My Life" please!!!

[BarleyNY]

9 hours ago, BLizzyMeock said:

Pretty sure you are wrong.... Dead money for the NFL salary cap is guaranteed cash and bonuses for a player who no longer is on that particular team. The dead money comes from what the player was owed before the team decided to move on

 

Hopkins has no guaranteed money left on his contract. The dead money on Hopkins’ deal that AZ has to account for is due to money (signing bonuses) already paid to him but not accounted for on their cap. It has no bearing on any future contracts. 

[frostbitmic]

Bills can pay him minimum and we fans can open a Go Fund Me page and pay him ourselves.

 

Now for another episode of bad ideas at 7 AM.

[eball]

I was not a fan of trading for him, but now that he is a FA it changes the story.  It’s all about what $$$ he wants.  If he wants top-15 WR money or a long term deal it won’t happen.  If he will accept a deal like OBJ just signed it could work.

 

[DJB]

I don’t believe this but we are all clamouring for info

Edited May 27, 2023 by DJB

[Jrb1979]

In other news Kyle Okposo just re-signed with the Sabres and they also signed one of their top prospect defenseman. 

 

It's crazy to me that those two things happened and all the Buffalo sports media can talk about is Hopkins at a restaurant. 

[MasterStrategist]

6 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

The Saints did it every year until Drew Brees retired and then they took their medicine. It was never a problem for them in their elite QB window. Beane himself did it when he took over the Bills, spent 1-2 seasons tearing the roster down and getting the cap into good shape. This is a billion dollar operation with a cash-rich owner... they will figure it out. You're correct that some day we will need to account for previous spending but that day is much further into the future than you make it out to be.

 

The reality is that most teams only have about 5 players that really belong in the "core" of the team. The rest are guys that spend no more than 2-3 years on the team or guys on rookie deals. So spending future cap space on Hopkins is not going to drastically change the fundamental structure of the team. At worst it will merely push out some of those 2nd and 3rd tier guys that aren't in the long-term plans anyways. The core will remain.

 

For example by adding Hopkins I think it becomes almost impossible to extend Ed Oliver or Gabe Davis next year no matter how well they play. But neither of these players appear to be in our long-term plans regardless. They are caught in the same position that Edmunds was in last year. When you're paying a QB you can't pay above market value for average or lower production which is exactly what guys like Edmunds and Davis and Oliver end up securing in free agency. A player like Hopkins on the contrary is not easily replaceable and has legitimate season-changing production. Pushing out some of our roster's middle class in exchange for an upper class player is a net positive. That's the "poison pill" you're worried about.

For every "Saints" situation, you have the Steelers, Chiefs, Packers, etc.  Id list NE but theyre a different breed with the GOAT and best coach.

 

Teams that didn't mortgage their future, won at least 1 title and had competitive teams year in and year out.  Btw, how many titles did the Saints win?

 

You can disagree with Beanes philosophy, but he said his 1st press conference that he intends to have 1 eye in the now and 1 toward the future.  Building a consistently competitive team.

 

Hitting on the draft is critical, and being smart with his spending.  That's been his focus.  

 

Oliver and Davis could very well be in our plans beyond this season. Beane has stated that, unprompted, but obviously the price has to match the value.  

 

 

[FluffHead]

6 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

Are you talking about the TD? Didn't Sky Moore make the exact same catch on the same route for a TD on the next series? I think that is proof that the Chiefs could have put any receiver out there and gotten the exact same result. 

No. Talking about the punt return that essentially ended the game 

[DJB]

 

[SoCal Deek]

47 minutes ago, Jrb1979 said:

In other news Kyle Okposo just re-signed with the Sabres and they also signed one of their top prospect defenseman. 

 

It's crazy to me that those two things happened and all the Buffalo sports media can talk about is Hopkins at a restaurant. 

Sadly, the Sabres have beaten me into a position of perpetual apathy. Is Okposo that big of a story? I’d liken that to the Bills re-signing a veteran special teams gunner. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by SoCal Deek

[transient]

23 minutes ago, DJB said:

 

It’s the zubaz… the pattern on the pants is flattering on the crotchal region… it’s reported why Bills mafia wears them. 

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, eball said:

I was not a fan of trading for him, but now that he is a FA it changes the story.  It’s all about what $$$ he wants.  If he wants top-15 WR money or a long term deal it won’t happen.  If he will accept a deal like OBJ just signed it could work.

 

 

Agreed on the money. That’ll be interesting. I wonder what Hopkins was asking for from teams wanting to trade for him. His contract would’ve been tough to fit into any decent team’s cap. Was he asking for a bump up? Would he have played for the same money with a restructure? Was he looking for additional years or guarantees? I expect him to go to the highest bidder among playoff caliber teams. With the highest bidder being the best combo of guaranteed money and expected income. I don’t know where this will land, but I think it’ll take a payout of at least $30M over two years - with most/all of that guaranteed - just to get his agent talking. Structure would make it look like a bigger deal to spread out the cap hits though. 

 

Signing Hopkins isn’t without risks.  His age and PED suspension are both concerning. But it’s probably a risk worth taking for the Bills and this regime. Beane and McDermott likely have two seasons to show progress and earn extensions so Hopkins would fit in to that very nicely. Time for them to push in all their chips. 

[MikePJ76]

7 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

The Rams added OBJ. The Eagles added AJ Brown. The Chiefs added Kadarius Toney. Every one of these additions ultimately changed the fortune of their team. IMO you're living in the past if you don't think adding a top tier WR can push a team over the hump. The Bills did it just 3 years ago and it revolutionized our offense.

I am not living in the past.  I am pretty factually stating these big wr trades and signings rarely lead to a championship.  Its almost always the play of the team in the trenches improving.  You win up front.  

 

OBJ was not some amazing addition that made the rams unstoppable.  It was stafford.  They had the defense and the running game.  Same thing with the AJ Brown addition.  The eagles had the best offensive line in the league and their defensive line was pretty fantastic also.   

 

Adding toney to this kind of odd. He is not the caliber of player any of these guys are and the chiefs would have won last year with any number of guys playing his spot.  They also are not paying him a fortune nor did they give up big draft capital for him.  

 

No matter what happens to me if the bills take the next step it is going to be because of the offensive line play was better, they run the ball more traditionally and are able to execute in the redzone because of it better.  Having a healthy defense and then some plain old fashion luck that every champion has.   

 

there is also the situation here with diggs.  There is only one ball and with kincaid and some other new wr to work with if the ball is not going his way enough and you lose a few tight games he is going to make things uncomfortable for everyone and draw a lot of attention.  The last thing Josh Allen needs is diggs and hopkins blaming Josh Allen for losing the way all these egomaniac wr do. 

 

If Brian Daboll was still here I would be more inclined to want them to go do this because I know he can handle all the personalities and would effectively use everyone within the offense.  He was the best coach on the staff.  I am not so sure the current staff can handle all these personalities.  The last thing any team wants to be doing during a season is fighting itself all year.  

 

So again I think they have enough on offense to win, if the line is as improved as it seems it can be I think the backs, tight ends and wide receivers here now are good enough to win each week.

[Jrb1979]

18 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Sadly, the Sabres have beaten me into a position of perpetual apathy. Is Okposo that big of a story? I’d liken that to the Bills re-signing a veteran special teams gunner. 

It's not a huge story but it is an actual signing. My point was that the Sabres did something, you have the NhL playoffs going on and MLB going. In Buffalo the biggest sports media story is about a football player at a restaurant in Buffalo. 

[Htt2821]

42 minutes ago, MasterStrategist said:

For every "Saints" situation, you have the Steelers, Chiefs, Packers, etc.  Id list NE but theyre a different breed with the GOAT and best coach.

 

Teams that didn't mortgage their future, won at least 1 title and had competitive teams year in and year out.  Btw, how many titles did the Saints win?

 

You can disagree with Beanes philosophy, but he said his 1st press conference that he intends to have 1 eye in the now and 1 toward the future.  Building a consistently competitive team.

 

Hitting on the draft is critical, and being smart with his spending.  That's been his focus.  

 

Oliver and Davis could very well be in our plans beyond this season. Beane has stated that, unprompted, but obviously the price has to match the value.  

 

 

They won 1 SB, which is the goal and I want. 

[MikePJ76]

8 hours ago, SACTOBILLSFAN said:

Mike watches football and thinks it’s the 80s. There’s a reason WRs are now the most sought after recruits (outside of OTs due to scarcity) in college and why their price tags are skyrocketing in the NFL. 

I am well aware of what decade it is and where the nfl is at.

 

Until I see proof that adding veteran star wr is the key move in winning championships I am going to continue to be skeptical.  I do not care what era of football you are talking about its almost always about the quarterback and the offensive and defensive lines.  Buffalo has one of the best wr in the league in Diggs.  I just don't see signing hopkins as the thing that puts them over the top.

 

Like I said before in another post though,  he has the skillset that the bills do not have.  Big Bodied, great hands, tough catch guy with a huge radius.  He can make all the amazing plays and if you put the ball on him or near him he is catching it.  So if they do sign him and he and diggs can be comfortable with each player getting different amounts of targets each week and share the spotlight it could be the leagues most dangerous duo.

 

It just seems to me that the offseason hype that comes with this move never actually materializes into on field results.  Time and time again big time wr have moved and it just fizzles out or comes up just short like owens in philly and moss in new england.  

 

I just want them to win.

[Shemp]

There are things I'm concerned about if the Bills get Hopkins. How many ways can you split the rock? The Bills already have Diggs, Davis, Shakir, Sherfield, Hardy, Shorter, Knox, Kincaid, Cook, Harris, Hines, Murray and more, not to mention Allen who likes to hang onto the ball. Will Diggs be P-Oed that the Bills would be getting someone who might take away from his touches? It would be an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side, but wouldn't the Bills be better off to invest more on the defense, which have been gashed by the elite teams?