Report: Teams Aren't Interested in Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins
*Update: The Arizona Cardinals have released DeAndre Hopkins*
PHOENIX -- The Arizona Cardinals' offseason prep for the 2023 season is underway, and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is nowhere to be found around the team facility.
Hopkins' absence isn't notable thanks to the "voluntary" portion of offseason activities, though most players do attend anyways. Mandatory camp for the Cardinals begins on June 13.
Yet it's his current standing with the team that makes his absence noteworthy: He's been found in trade speculation since the first sunrise of the offseason. Months of rumors and chatter filled headlines but ultimately led to nothing.
So - we now find ourselves at an interesting point in the desert. The Cardinals are obviously rebuilding and would love to shed some of that $30.75 million cap hit Hopkins has. Hopkins himself would like to play for a contender, and thus a split is believed to be best for both parties.
Yet there's no current traction on a trade, and The Athletic's Mike Jones says teams around the league believe Hopkins won't be moved until later this year.
"Regardless of the desires of Hopkins or the Cardinals, the wide receiver might have to stay put for now," Jones reported.
"Front-office executives around the league believe it’s unlikely that any team would pull the trigger on a deal this offseason for a number of reasons, which include Hopkins’ contract terms, the belief that he wants a new multiyear deal and the salary-cap situations of teams that would fit the receiver’s criteria for a desired destination."
The real fun will begin on June 1, when the Cardinals can trade/release Hopkins for much friendlier cap savings:
Pre June 1 Cut/Trade
Dead Money: $21.07 million
Cap Savings: $8.91 million
Post June 1 Cut/Trade
Dead Money: $10.53 million
Cap Savings: $19.45 million
Jones continued:
"All of the above lead league insiders to believe that no Hopkins trade is coming any time soon. Six front-office executives said they have heard no chatter about teams in pursuit of Hopkins," he said. "Two predicted that Hopkins would likely have to wait until the November trade deadline, when teams could prove more desperate for a move.
"And so, as badly as Hopkins wants to win as his window of high-level football begins to shrink, dreams of a trade seemingly are just that: a dream. His remaining course of action may involve a patient approach and hopes that Murray can recover, play at a high level and help the Cardinals exceed expectations in the coming seasons."
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