Former Cardinals GM Steve Keim Dishes on DeAndre Hopkins, Tough Negotiations
Former Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim hasn't seen much of the spotlight since stepping down from his position the day after the 4-13 season ended due to health reasons.
Keim was with the Cardinals for a decade running the show, piecing together some talented teams but ultimately failing to deliver a Super Bowl run. Bad seasons outweighed the good, and it was probably time for the two sides to seek their separate ways.
The split was back in January, and we really only heard Keim's name in headlines very recently when team owner Michael Bidwill was accused of forcing Cardinals personnel to use burner phones to communicate with Keim during his suspension for a DUI back in 2018.
Keim recently appeared on the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long and touched on a variety of topics, which included the current situation surrounding Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins has been on the trade block for some time but Arizona has yet to find a partner, and many speculate the Cardinals are asking too much and Hopkins' market is fairly dry.
Keim gave his own two cents on what's happening in the desert:
"Here's the problem: The problem is his current contract. With I think it's $30 million in cap, $20 million in cash, those pose some serious problems to teams - particularly teams that probably have a quarterback that's taking up a large number of the cap itself," he said.
"No. 1, they're going to have to be creative, and I'm guessing the Cardinals are going to have to figure it out from the standpoint of a player of that magnitude - No. 1 I think he's 33-years-old. No. 2: The contract. And you think to yourself he's been hurt the last couple years. So they'll probably gonna have to come to understand they're not gonna get as much as they would if he was a younger player or his contract was considerably lower. [The trade package for Hopkins] may end up being a second or third-day draft pick to really get it done, because that team is going to have to take it on and understand how to probably get a new deal done.
"I negotiated with Hop- Hop was his own agent, and I can tell you that's not the easiest thing in the world. Between him and Larry Fitzgerald, that’s the guys that put all this grey on my beard. Larry loves football but Larry loves cash, too. He is smart.”
