DeAndre Hopkins Suspension Works In Ravens Favor
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The recent suspension of five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins worked in the Ravens' favor.
The Arizona Cardinals playmaker has been suspended six games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. That means Hopkins will miss over 1/3 of his team's games next season.
The Cardinals must have seen this coming because they gave the Ravens a first-round pick to acquire disgruntled wide receiver Marquise Brown, who had requested a trade.
Marquise Brown can't corral a potential touchdown pass against the Bengals.
The Ravens were going to have to part ways with Brown one way or another because he wanted out of Baltimore. Brown is coming off the best season of his career with more than 1,000 yards receiving but he has been largely inconsistent over his time with the Ravens.
Brown also publicly expressed dissatisfaction with his role in the offense and scrubbed any reference to the Ravens from his social media account earlier this year,
As a result, the Ravens might have only gotten a third-round pick for Brown prior to Arizona's offer. The Cardinals needed a proven wide receiver to take the place of Hopkins and were confident that Brown had enough upside to take a costly chance.
The Ravens traded Brown and the 100th pick — a third-round compensatory selection— in the 2022 draft in exchange for the 23rd overall pick. Baltimore took Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum with that selection.
In the end, it was beneficial for the Ravens and Brown to part ways.
Baltimore has a young group of hungry wide receivers — Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace — that work harder and have a better attitude than Brown.
The question is whether they can amass 1,000 yards receiving.
The Ravens are going to find out.
