DeAndre Hopkins Reveals Who Rejected Him in Free Agency
Former Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins - for the first time in his career - was a free agent over the summer.
It wasn't exactly your typical dive into the open market, however. Hopkins was released after failing to be traded by Arizona, who were simply looking to move on and continue their tear-down of the roster after new general manager Monti Ossenfort took over.
His age (31) and price tag ($19.45 million salary this season) deterred not only the Cardinals from his presence, but also other teams as well. Arizona tried their best to trade him through the offseason but ultimately wanted out.
Hopkins only took two physical visits - one from New England and the other Tennessee - before he signed with the Titans on a two-year, $26 million deal. The market wasn't exactly what Hopkins had hoped for.
“I’m very grateful for where I am, I think I made the best decision,” Hopkins told GQ magazine in a recent interview.
“But when you’re a player and some people feel like they’re great without you, and then you see what they have on paper, or you see what they do, you mark those games down, as a competitor. I can't wait to play' em and, honestly, try my best to crush they ass.”
The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were initially thought to have had interest in Hopkins, though neither were considered frontrunners towards the end of the process.
“There were some teams that I had on my list that I gave them calls and they didn’t give a call back,” Hopkins said before listing the teams that didn't want him.
“Detroit Lions, they didn’t want me. Dallas Cowboys didn’t want me. Giants didn’t want me. Sh--. Who else ain’t want me? San Fran ain’t want me.”
Those teams are all considered to be postseason contenders, something Hopkins is striving for after spending time with Houston and Arizona. All but Detroit are set to play the Cardinals this season.
Yet he was also in search of another payday, something most teams were willing to pass on considering his age.
“I don't look at age, but it's some of the reason some teams might've passed up on me," said Hopkins.
“You have to know your value and have some level of respect for who you are as a human being. Is the possibility of you going somewhere who is a Super Bowl-caliber team, on paper, is that worth you being paid minimum? It doesn’t add up.”
He'll have the opportunity to prove majority of the league wrong starting this Sunday.
