On Friday the Arizona Cardinals created cap space by severing ties with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
From the moment the Arizona Cardinals’ regular season concluded, it was obvious that some changes needed to be made. From a coaching and managerial standpoint, the adjustments were relatively swift. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury was removed from his post, as was general manager Steve Keim.
And now a potentially even bigger piece is leaving: DeAndre Hopkins.
It’s never too early to check out some NFL Futures for some summer football action.
NFL 23/24
DeAndre Hopkins Becomes a Free Agent
As per the official NFL website, the franchise’s new brass, led by GM Monti Ossenfort, had been negotiating trades for some time. It also knew that a solution had to be arrived by June 1, otherwise, the Cardinals would be on the hook for a lot more money than they already are.
No trade opportunity beneficial for all concerned parties ever materialized. With a new coaching regime headed by Jonathan Gannon, an unhealthy Kyler Murray – the QB may not be ready for several early 2023 games – an expensive contract, and not nearly as many games and production in 2022 and 2021 as the organization would have hoped for result in this being the most logical decision.
The move allows the Cardinals to free up at least $7.38 million in cap space for 2023, even though there’s still $22.6 million in dead cap. From a financial perspective, the biggest positive for the Arizona Cardinals is that Hopkins is entirely off the books for 2024.
Hopkins’s Up and Down stint with the Cardinals
The Pro Bowl-caliber receiver spent three seasons with the Cardinals. His most productive was the first in 2020 when he tallied 115 catches for 1,407 yards and six scores.
Since then DeAndre Hopkins’ productivity has been hampered either by injuries or suspension. He only played 19 contests during the next two seasons in the desert. The most memorable stretch was the first half of the 2021 campaign, when Murray, Hopkins, and the rest of the team rampaged their way to a 7-0 start. But a loopy defeat to the Packers on Thursday Night Football and a bad injury to Murray was the beginning of the end of their Super Bowl aspirations. They fell ignominiously in the Wild Card round to the eventual champions Los Angeles Rams.
Hopkins is still only 30 years old – he turns 31 on June 6 – and surely has plenty of juice left in him. Five Pro Bowl selections, three First-Team All-Pro inductions are more than enough credentials for any of the 31 other NFL franchises to give his agent a phone call and talk business.
