The Arizona Cardinals’ call to release DeAndre Hopkins on Friday has had many speculating over whether the team will be tanking in the 2023 campaign. New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu is among those who believe that the Cardinals are already throwing in the towel on the upcoming season.
Hopkins’ future with Arizona was up in the air ever since the conclusion of the 2022 season. Hopkins was under contract with the Cardinals through the 2024 season, and overall, he had a cap hit of $30.75 million for this year. The five-time Pro Bowler was linked with multiple teams over the past months, from the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Cardinals ultimately opted to release Hopkins as a pre-June 1 designation, and they will take on a dead cap hit of $22.6 million this year.
With the Cardinals’ final decision on this dilemma, Mathieu sees that Arizona is “tanking.”
“They tanking fasho fasho,” Mathieu wrote on Twitter.
The attention now turns to just which team will end up signing Hopkins. From the veteran wideout’s standpoint, there is much that 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 during a recent appearance on the “I AM ATHLETE” podcast. “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 did also share with Brandon Marshall on the “I AM ATHLETE” podcast a list of quarterbacks who he would like to work with before he calls it a career.
“One of my favorite quarterbacks I've been watching since he came in the league is Josh Allen,” Hopkins said. “He reminds me of a new-school Andrew Luck. I love Josh Allen. Jalen Hurts, he's a Houston kid, he's a dog. No. 3, Patrick Mahomes, obviously. … No. 4, I got to go with the underdog, not as many people respect him as a throwing quarterback, but Lamar (Jackson). … No. 5, I'm going to also have to go with my dude with the Chargers (Justin Herbert).”
Hopkins capped off his run in Arizona with 2,696 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches over 35 regular season games played.
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