After dreams of the Bears finding a way to land star wide receivers Tee Higgins and Keenan Allen were dashed by their respective GMs at the NFL Combine, rumors of another marquee pass catcher possibly becoming available for trade emerged. Buzz started growing that DeAndre Hopkins could be on the trading block, and the Cardinals didn’t exactly quiet that noise.
Both new GM Monti Ossenfort and new head coach Jonathan Gannon addressed the media on Tuesday and both men praised Hopkins’ playmaking ability, but neither man shot down trade rumors. In fact, Gannon was frank when asked if he believed Hopkins would be on the Cardinals roster for the 2023 season.
"I'm not sure," Gannon said. "We are looking at evaluating everyone. I know this: he's a premier receiver you have to have a plan for.”
“I’ve had a conversation with DeAndre and DeAndre’s representative,” said Ossenfort. “Those have been very productive conversations. I’ve watched from afar the last 10 years or whatever it’s been with DeAndre and have been on teams that have had to compete against him. I’ve seen the player that DeAndre is and what he can do on the field. He’s tough to defend. So I’m glad he’s on the team.
“And I think with him, or as it goes to any player, those are situations that we’ll address as they come up. But I’m glad DeAndre is on the team right now, and I’m happy to be on the same team with him.”
The Cardinals must decide how they want to move forward with a young, underachieving roster. The team had high hopes for their 2022 season after trading for Marquise Brown to pair with Hopkins at receiver. But Kyler Murray was hurt for a good portion of the season, and didn’t play particularly well when he was healthy. The Cardinals finished the year with a 4-13 record.
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Hopkins is still under contract for two more seasons, and is set to carry a $30.75 million cap hit in 2023 and a $26.2 million hit in 2024. Some believe trade rumors for Hopkins are a last ditch effort for the Cardinals to recoup some value for the wide receiver, and they may cut him to save cash.
Hopkins missed the first six games of last season to serve a PED suspension, and the last two games with a knee injury, but when he played he was as impactful as ever. He finished the 2022 season with 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns in nine games. Hopkins will turn 31 this summer and has 10 years of NFL experience. Over his career, Hopkins has 853 receptions for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns.