DeAndre Hopkins Reveals What Went Wrong With Cardinals

Just like any other season, WR DeAndre Hopkins is set to hit an NFL field and hopefully dominate in the process - though 2023 will feature him doing so in a new uniform.

It's been an interesting offseason for the former Arizona Cardinals receiver, who saw trade rumors begin just two days after the season ended. Through the winter and spring months, speculation ran wild on what Hopkins' future might hold.

The Cardinals - looking to rebuild after a horrid 4-13 season that saw their HC and GM gone - didn't want to pay the $19.45 million salary Hopkins was due this season. Neither did teams looking to acquire him via trade, which ultimately led to his release.

The 31-year-old star receiver hit the open market and eventually settled with the Tennessee Titans on a two-year, $26 million deal.

It was an unfortunate ending to a rather fun time for Cardinals fans watching Hopkins reel in amazing passes that were routine for only him during his three-year stint in Arizona.

Recently, Hopkins sat down with GQ magazine and briefly touched on his time in Arizona:

"Hopkins believes that the 2021 Cardinals team he was on, during the season he got injured, had a shot, referring to that year as 'our Super Bowl year in Arizona.' They were 7-1 when the hamstring first sidelined him. They lost five of their next nine games, and then lost in the first round of the playoffs. Then came the 4-13 finish last year and Hopkins’s release from the team. I ask him what went wrong. He takes a long pause, considering. 'I feel like we stopped having faith in each other, as a team,' he says. 'I feel like if the trust isn't there, it's hard to win games.'

Hopkins says that as soon as he saw the Titans practice, he recognized a different kind of work ethic, one he hadn’t seen on past teams. 'I wouldn't say it's because of Arizona, the reason I came here, to have that 360 switch, but I would say it was definitely part of my decision to be somewhere that did have a winning culture, or a fighting culture.'"

Hopkins also said it was his mental strength that helped him persevere in Arizona, saying, "I still thrived in the offense with a lot going on outside the game of football. That's not just being smart or good. That's being mentally strong as well.”