DeAndre Hopkins Skips Cardinals Workouts; Falcons Trade Target on NFL Draft Night?

The estrangement between DeAndre Hopkins and the Arizona Cardinals is chugging along toward a divorce, with the latest being the Wednesday news that the All-Pro receiver is skipping voluntary workouts.

Yes, they are "voluntary.'' But they can also be symbolic.

Hopkins is sending his present employer a message. And a future employer like the Atlanta Falcons should be sending a message to him.

The Cardinals have attempted to get a second-round pick in trade and have no buyers. They are rumored to be considering cutting one of the most decorated receivers of his generation as they try to rebuild their roster and reassess their salary-cap commitments.

The Falcons, meanwhile, have ample cap room, feature a run-first offense that could use star-level weaponry to reach the next level, and play in an NFC South that is suddenly ripe for the winning.

Want Desmond Ridder to succeed as a starting quarterback. Want tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London in the right place in a passing-game pecking order? Want to shut up the silly critics who think the disinterest a Lamar Jackson was really about a disinterest in winning?

Show 'em. Win DeAndre Hopkins.

Through some injuries and a suspension, in "Nuk's'' his last full season with Arizona, in 2020, he caught 115 passes for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns.

He's a gigantic difference-maker.

We know Atlanta has contemplated the idea. We also know that as we get closer to this NFL Draft, teams will clutch even nearer their chest their valued picks ...

Meaning that even with the reported interest from the Jets (who lost out to the Ravens on OBJ), the likelihood that Arizona will get anything near what it wishes might shrivel up altogether.

A fourth-round pick offer? The Cardinals will be ahead of the game doing that as opposed to cutting him.

Or ... the Cardinals can simply persuade Hopkins to show up to work. But at this moment? He's not very interested in "volunteering'' for the job.

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