Report: Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins' No-Trade Clause Voided by Suspension
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The Arizona Cardinals have a few questions to answer in regards to their offseason.
Though the team now has solidified faces at general manager (Monti Ossenfort) and head coach (Jonathan Gannon), the Cardinals still need to figure out issues such as who will be filling in for quarterback Kyler Murray before his return, who will be taken with the No. 3 overall pick and who out of the plethora of free agents Arizona will look to bring back.
Another issue is the status of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who found himself involved in plenty of trade rumors after The Score's Jordan Schultz first reported the Cardinals were looking to deal the 30-year-old pass catcher.
The move could be for a few different reasons. Hopkins is reportedly in search of a new contract but his cap hit of just over $30 million for 2023 is second to only Tyreek Hill.
Hopkins may also not want to take part in a potential rebuild, and the reported no-trade clause in his contract would have given him the power to essentially choose his next destination.
The only problem? His six-game suspension last season for violating the league's PED policy reportedly forfeited the no-trade clause according to CBS Sports' Joel Corry.
"Having a wide receiver with 2023's second-biggest hit at the position when Kyler Murray, the 'franchise quarterback' could miss part of the regular season recovering from a torn right ACL may not make the most sense for a team that's much closer to rebuilding than being a Super Bowl contender," said Corry.
"Several teams reportedly inquired about Hopkins' availability before last season's trade deadline. The no-trade clause in Hopkins' contract voided when he was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season because of violating of the league's performance enhancing substances policy."
That would certainly change the dynamic if true, as the Cardinals would then be able to deal Hopkins to whoever can offer the best deal as opposed to being restricted to where Hopkins would want to go (reportedly the Jaguars and Chargers were atop his list).
Gannon wasn't asked about Hopkins during his introductory press conference on Thursday, but Hopkins did reportedly meet with Ossenfort back on Feb. 3.
“We definitely talked, not so much about my future, but we had a good conversation which was good,” Hopkins said via Arizona Sports. “That’s all you could ask for is to sit down and talk with the new GM."
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