Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins seemed to be referencing an offseason of trade rumors in a social media post earlier this month when he asked “who said I want to leave,” but his future with the team still feels like it is up in the air.
Hopkins isn’t with the team for their first day of OTAs Monday and said on the I AM ATHLETE podcast that he thinks it’s better for him to work out with trainers who know “what is going to benefit” his body the most. He also shared what he’s looking for from a team at this point in his career.
“What I want is stable management upstairs. I think that’s something I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona. I’ve been through three or four GMs in my career, so a stable management. A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself but everybody around him . . . and a great defense. A great defense wins championships.”
Hopkins said Kyler Murray is a quarterback who loves the game and that he thinks the team is in “good hands” with new G.M. Monti Ossenfort, but noted that Murray is still returning from a torn ACL. Hopkins added that he loves Colt McCoy, but added that he doesn’t “currently have a Pro Bowl quarterback or a quarterback who I would say could” before tailing off without finishing his point.
At another point in the interview, Hopkins said that Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert are quarterbacks he’d love to play with. The Bills and Ravens have both been seen as potential suitors for wide receivers this offseason and Hopkins’ comments may renew chatter about a trade to one of those teams or another club that can give him what he’s looking for this year.