Cardinals Release WR DeAndre Hopkins

After months of speculation, the Arizona Cardinals have officially made the move to release DeAndre Hopkins.

What felt like a mere shot in the dark months ago has now turned into reality for the Arizona Cardinals after the team has finally decided to move on from wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. 

Hopkins was officially released by the club on Friday morning. 

The move comes months after a report from The Score's Jordan Schultz, who insisted the Cardinals may look to move on from Hopkins. With Arizona looking to overhaul their roster in an attempt to rebuild after a 4-13 season, keeping Hopkins (set to turn 31-years-old with a $30.75 million cap hit, second highest for NFL receivers) wasn't an ideal scenario for either side. 

The cards (pun intended) were thought to initially be in Hopkins' hands after it was revealed that he was one of the few players in the league with a no-trade clause. However, his six-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy voided the clause and gave Arizona the option to deal him anywhere of their choosing. 

He reportedly had the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers on his list of teams.

Hopkins spent the first seven years of his career with the Houston Texans after drafting him in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Cardinals in 2020 for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick. 

In 35 games for the Cardinals, Hopkins reeled in 221 passes for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns. 

In total, he has five All-Pro nods with five Pro Bowl appearances. 

With his release, the Cardinals will eat $21.07 million in dead money but will save $8.9 million in cap space for 2023 (OverTheCap).

The Cardinals currently have Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch as their top receivers. 

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