Report: DeAndre Hopkins-Chiefs Trade Talks Hit Snag After Odell Beckham Jr. Contract

DeAndre Hopkins might be on the Kansas City Chiefs if it wasn't for...Odell Beckham Jr.

According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, the lucrative contract that Beckham signed with the Baltimore Ravens priced Hopkins out of Kansas City's comfort zone:

"Kansas City made progress toward a deal, but things went a little sideways when Beckham got $15 million in base pay from Baltimore, making Hopkins feel like he should land at least that much, given that Beckham didn't play last year. The Chiefs wound up giving free-agent left tackle Donovan Smith a deal structured similarly to the offer they made Hopkins, which will make it more difficult for Kansas City to circle back."

Ostensibly, the Chiefs were asking Hopkins to restructure his contract—which had a cap hit of $30.75 million—as a condition of any trade. When Beckham signed his one-year, $15 million pact, Hopkins reportedly wanted to ensure any reworked deal equaled that figure, the Chiefs balked at the cost and the trade talks fell through.

Kansas City wasn't the only team that wasn't willing to pay a draft pick alongside absorbing his big cap figure, and the Cardinals ultimately released him.

The move saved the team $8.15 million in 2023 cap space, per ESPN, but came with a dead cap hit of $22.6 million. He'll be completely off the books in 2024, however.

Still, a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro being released at age 30 came as a bit of a surprise. The question for teams is whether Hopkins will ever return to his elite form again after he missed nine games over the past two seasons with injuries.

One AFC executive outlined the pluses and minuses of signing Hopkins at this stage in his career:

"Still great hands, he is not going to separate, not much of a deep threat, but very strong, and makes contested catches as well as anyone in the NFL. Does not love to practice—I can't imagine that'll get any better. And when things don't go well, you're always gonna be leery, All right, what kind of drama are we gonna get from this guy? When things are great, he's great. When things go south, his true colors show a little bit."

"But he always shows up on game day. He's gonna have to go to a team that knows what they're getting. You cannot expect a perfect-attendance type of worker."

He would certainly upgrade a Kansas City wideout group that doesn't have a clear top option. At this point, however, financial limitations may prevent the team from pulling the trigger on such a signing.