The Cardinals offense has not played well this season, and neither has Kyler Murray. The Cardinals and their quarterback, though, are getting DeAndre Hopkins back this week.
The star receiver returned from his suspension, practicing for the first time since the preseason.
Murray wore a smile when asked about Hopkins’ return.
“His energy, man, it seems like every time you see him on the field . . . there is a reason why he’s the best,” Murray said, via Darren Urban of the team website.
Hopkins will make his 2022 debut on Thursday Night Football. He has not played since Week 14 of last season when he tore knee ligaments.
Murray warned, though, that Hopkins’ return is “not a miracle [cure] that everything is gone. We still have things we have to get better at, still things we need to fix.”
Hopkins returned to the building in Week 4, attending meetings, and he trained at EXOS in Tempe, Arizona, trying to stay in football condition as much as possible. He acknowledged that you can’t “simulate a football game outside of a football game.”
Still, he, Murray and the Cardinals are eager to get him back on the field, and he will play without restrictions Thursday, according to coach Kliff Kingsbury.
“One person can’t go out and win a game, but it does help having someone like myself out there who can dictate how defenses play us,” Hopkins said after practice. “Last year was a great example of that and me not having a game over 100 yards, a lot of people saw it of me having a down year. I look at it as a productive year because I got a lot of guys open. There are a lot of things that go into a football game more than just fantasy stats or yards.”
