Patriots Path to DeAndre Hopkins Trade: Roadblock Removed?
FOXBORO — While the chances of the New England Patriots trading for Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins may be remote, at best, the potential path to making it happen may have become a bit clearer.
Per a Thursday report from CBS Sports, Hopkins’ no-trade clause, originally included in his contract, was actually voided by the six-game suspension he received last offseason for a violation of the league’s policy on banned substances.
As a result, Hopkins is no longer able to veto a potential deal between the Cardinals and a team of their choosing — including the Patriots.
It was first reported in mid-January that the Cardinals are expected to explore trade possibilities for the 31-year-old veteran.
After serving the aforementioned six-game suspension to start the season, Hopkins re-established himself as Arizona’s primary scoring option, logging 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns in just nine games. As a result, the 10-year veteran helped to reverse the fortune of a Cardinals offense which largely underperformed throughout the season.
With Hopkins having previously drawn effusive praise from coach Bill Belichick, New England has been heavily rumored as a potential destination for the talented wideout.
Hopkins is a five-time Pro Bowler and has also been named to five All-Pro teams throughout his 10-year career. He has topped the 1,000 receiving yards mark in six of those seasons, with 71 total touchdown receptions. In fact, some of Hopkins’ greatest successes on a football field came while being coached by Bill O’Brien during their tenure with the Houston Texans.
As such, Hopkins-to-New England seemed to be a strong, logical fit.
Not so fast…
Both Hopkins and O’Brien have a somewhat complicated past.
Hopkins played under O'Brien as a member of the Texans from 2014-19, when the 53-year-old Dorchester, Mass. native was the team's head coach. Their working relationship unceremoniously ended when Hopkins and a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft were sent to the Cardinals for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2021 fourth-round pick. Reception to the trade was highly critical of the Texans, -- especially O’Brien -- with multiple analysts calling it one of the worst of all time from their perspective, while simultaneously praising the Cardinals for "robbing" the Texans.
It has long been speculated that Hopkins was traded due to personal problems with O'Brien. In the aftermath of his trade, anonymous criticisms of Hopkins surfaced claiming the wide receiver missed practices, while calling into question the people with which Hopkins associated.
For these reasons, it is widely believed that Hopkins would be reluctant to collaborate with O’Brien for a second time, even going as far as to invoke his no-trade clause to block a potential deal to New England.
However, in light of Thursday’s report, Hopkins appears to no longer have final say in the matter.
When considering financial specifics, Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan previously reported that Hopkins’ current cap hit with Arizona (set at $30.75 million) would not travel with him to his new destination, if traded.
Instead, his cap numbers for his new team would be $19.45 million in 2023 and $14.915 million in 2024. With New England expected to field in excess of $34 million in available cap space heading into the new league year, adding Hopkins to the Foxboro fold is fiscally feasible.
The foundation is for a deal is there for discovery.
The only question remaining is whether Belichick and his former Patriots colleague — turned Cardinals general manager — Monti Ossenfort are willing to make it.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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