Cardinals Grant Teams Permission to Speak With DeAndre Hopkins, per Report
The saga of Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins in the desert may be concluding soon.
Since his arrival, Hopkins has made numerous plays at State Farm Stadium and undoubtedly proved he was still at the top of his game, reaching a level very few at his position can when healthy and on the field.
Yet with the Cardinals rebuilding in 2023, keeping Hopkins around didn't make much sense. Hopkins likely wants a fresh start elsewhere, too.
Thus a trade for the All-Pro receiver was in the cards (no pun intended), as it was only a matter of time after the Cardinals reportedly put him on the trade block just days after the regular season ended.
Yet Hopkins still remains on the roster a month until the 2023 NFL Draft, and some reports have suggested Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort is asking too much with a cost of a second-round pick and something else of value.
Stagnant? Possibly. Yet MMQB's Albert Breer is reporting the Cardinals are allowing teams to speak with Hopkins and his team directly to perhaps better facilitate a deal.
"The Cardinals’ initial ask, to get a second-rounder and another asset for Hopkins, seems to have fallen flat, and there are teams waiting to see the price come down in the wake of the Brandin Cooks trade. To try to facilitate something, I’m told Arizona has granted teams permission to talk to Hopkins and his agents," Breer said.
"But the combination of his age, injury history and friction with the teams he’s played for has made him a tougher sell than I think the Cardinals anticipated. One way, creatively, they could improve the giveback from another would be to pick up part of Hopkins’s $19.45 million base salary for this year before trading him."
Teams such as the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders have reportedly been interested in his services.
Earlier in the offseason, The Score's Jordan Schultz reported the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers were two coveted destinations for Hopkins.
The Cardinals will accrue a $22.6 million dead cap hit if trading him before June 1 but will also save over $8 million in cap space with his departure.
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