The Arizona Cardinals reached a long-awaited resolution last week regarding DeAndre Hopkins’ future with the team. After months of speculation over whether the Cardinals would trade Hopkins ahead of the 2023 season, they opted to instead release the veteran wideout.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked during a press conference on Thursday about the team’s final call on this matter, and he kept it quite simple with his response.
“Yeah, it’s really no big deal to me,” Gannon said. “We were operating on the premise that he was going to be here and now we’re not. So, we’re moving on.”
Gannon added that he is “very pleased” with the receivers on the Cardinals roster.
Gannon did not necessarily receive an opportunity to work with Hopkins. The five-time Pro Bowler skipped Arizona’s three-day veteran minicamp in April, and he did not join the rest of the team for the early stages of its OTAs schedule last month.
Hopkins’ future with the Cardinals was the talk of the town within the organization since the conclusion of the 2022 season. He had a mere two years left on his contract with Arizona, and he was set to hold a cap hit of $30.75 million for the 2023 campaign. He was linked with teams such as the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots for months, but in the end, the Cardinals released him as a pre-June 1 designation, and they will take on a dead cap hit of an astounding $22.6 million this year.
Hopkins is currently on the lookout for a new home in the NFL, and he did recently share on the “I AM ATHLETE” podcast just what he wants in a team.
“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,” Hopkins said. “A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him, pushes not just himself but the people around him … and a great defense.”
Hopkins played in 35 regular season games during his three-year run with Arizona, where he tallied 221 receptions for 2,696 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches.
Follow Us
Subscribe