The Arizona Cardinals were faced with difficult news when it was announced DeAndre Hopkins would receive a 6-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance enhancing drug policy. The unforeseen suspension shocked Arizona to say the least. But coach Kliff Kingsbury is maintaining an optimistic outlook on the situation.

“The addition of Marquise (Brown) will help. We just have to play better as an offense. It's unfortunate he won't be available, but I'm excited to get him back … it'll be a real shot in the arm.”

Kingsbury views Marquise Brown as a useful replacement for Hopkins. The Cardinals coach has previously expressed his excitement to see what Brown can accomplish in Arizona. 

“I think he’s just scratching the surface. We really feel like he fits what we do, played in a similar scheme in college there at OU with Lincoln [Riley] and so it should be a quick learning curve as well.”

But the fact of the matter is that playing without DeAndre Hopkins will negatively affect the Cardinals offense through the first 6 games. However, Hopkins was limited to just 10 games in 2021. So Arizona has experience running the offense without him on the field.

And Kliff Kingsbury is right when he says getting Hopkins back mid-season will be a “shot in the arm.” Many teams begin looking to make trades during that time period. But Arizona will add one of the best receivers in football after the sixth game of the year.

The Cardinals are looking to rebound after stumbling in the latter part of the 2021-2022 campaign.