The Arizona Cardinals could release DeAndre Hopkins

According to Albert Breer, there seems to be some thought around the league that the Arizona Cardinals could release DeAndre Hopkins.  Wow.  This would be quite the move and honestly would not shock me.

Hopkins is over 30 years old and is owed a ton of money left on his contract.  It’s no surprise that teams have seemingly been hesitant to trade for the All-Pro wide receiver and former Houston Texan.

Albert Breer elaborates:

"“Some teams think that Cardinals are going to cut him, they think the Cardinals will wind up cutting him.” Breer said, “His market is not great right now.” He further added, “There’s nobody who was willing to take on Hopkins’ contract and pay the Cardinals initial asking price.”"

He’s set to earn $34 million over the next two seasons on his current contract, which is an average of $17 million per season.  That’s rich for most positions, let alone an aging wide receiver.  However, Hopkins has still been productive in recent seasons.

He averaged 79.7 yards per game in nine games played this season and would have been well on pace for yet another 1,000 yard season.  He’s got six 1,000 yard seasons in his 10 year career, with his most recent coming in 2020 with the Cardinals.

He’s got 71 career touchdown catches and over 11,000 career receiving yards.  He’s still quite the player and is set to enter his age-31 season in the NFL.  I do think he’s got a few solid years left in him and he if indeed does get cut, his potential suitors would escalate.

That might be the best scenario for him too.  He likely wants to go to a contender and if he is cut, he’ll have the freedom to sign with any team that makes him an offer.

The Arizona Cardinals might be out of luck here.  If no team is wanting to pay up, then they might not have a choice.