All Cardinals

'Is DeAndre Hopkins Holding Out?' is a Poor Question

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins responded on Twitter to a specious premise that he is holding out rather than nursing a tight hamstring.

Howard Balzer

The headline on the story could have just as easily said, “Is the Earth Flat?” or, “Will the Coronavirus Disappear?”

Instead, it said, “Is DeAndre Hopkins Holding Out?” That headline was followed by the specious premise that Hopkins hadn't participated in the last two Cardinals' practices because of a tight hamstring. (Note: He also missed Tuesday's practice.) Rather, it claims the reasoning is because a new contract hasn’t manifested yet.

The belief that might be the case occurred because the writer opined that, “The way Kliff Kingsbury was talking about DeAndre Hopkins today, I got the sense that Hopkins’ main issue isn’t a hamstring—it’s that he hasn't inked his new 'top paid WR in the history of the NFL’ contract yet. And ... perhaps a contract of that magnitude could take some time to materialize. Especially for a player who hasn’t taken one snap in a game for the team yet.”

The story, from a website that won’t be named, then had these words: “When asked if Hopkins’ absence from the first practice in full pads (coincidental?) was a step backwards, Kingsbury said, ‘It’s not. He’s been so productive in this league. He’s a pro’s pro when it comes to knowing what it takes to have his body ready and his mind ready to perform at a high level Week 1. You’d obviously like Kyler (Murray) to get a few more reps with him, but they got some great work in this summer and he’s a guy who is going to present himself well on the field for a young quarterback. We don’t worry too much about it, knowing what he’s done in this league and what he’s about.’ Curious that Kingsbury is already talking about Hopkins being ready for Week 1 and it’s still nearly a month away.”

Is that really curious? First, there were a few more words Kingsbury said after the end of the quote presented. He said, “We don't worry too much about it knowing what he's done in this league, what he's about having been around him a little bit and how he prepares to get himself ready.” That’s important considering the actual question that was asked, which we will get to momentarily.

Most significant is that the suggestion Hopkins missing the first day in full pads was perhaps “coincidental?” This ignores the fact that he also missed the practice the day before that wasn’t in pads.

Now, let’s parse the full question asked that led to Kingsbury’s response because he wasn’t “asked (only) if Hopkins’ absence from the first practice in full pads was a step backwards.”

Here is the question in total: “Kliff, even though DeAndre's injury sounds pretty minor, does him missing practice time — is that a setback as far as him learning the offense? Are you trying to figure out how to use him knowing how short of a time you have before the season?”

Thus, a full reading of the question shows that it’s really not “curious” that Kingsbury was talking about Hopkins being ready for Week 1 because his explanation answered the full context of the question.

Oh, almost forgot. After the story was tweeted out by longtime Houston Chronicle writer John McClain, none other than Hopkins replied with a third-person point of view, “No DeAndre Hopkins is not holding out. From the source.”

End of story. Can we move on now?

Published
Howard Balzer
HOWARD BALZER