It looks like the DeAndre Hopkins era with the Arizona Cardinals is officially over.
According to azcardinals.com, after weeks of speculation and the Cardinals unable to find a trade partner, the 31-year-old star wide receiver has officially been released by the franchise.
The Cardinals will absorb a $22.6 million dead salary cap in 2023, and he will be cleared from the books after that.
Although Hopkins never publicly said he wanted to leave Arizona, he admitted what he looks for in a team earlier this week, saying:
“What I want is stable management upstairs, that’s something I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona.
A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him, not just himself but everybody around him… and a great defense. A great defense wins championships.”
Hopkins joined the Cardinals back in 2020, where he recorded 115 catches for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns while achieving second-team All-Pro status.
In his second season, he missed seven games with a hamstring and knee injury, but still managed to wrack up 42 catches for 572 yards with eight touchdowns.
And for the 2022 season, he was suspended for six games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, but still made 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns, but his numbers took a hit after quarterback injuries, and he sat out the last two games over concerns with his knee.
Hopkins had only missed two games in his first eight seasons.
I guess we’ll see what the future holds for the star wide receiver.
Could he reunite with Deshaun Watson in Cleveland? Seems like a good idea…
