DeAndre Hopkins wants to know where he will be playing football in 2023 and beyond, because he clearly does not want to be on the Arizona Cardinals as the franchise seems to be trending downwards.
On the same day, the Cardinals opened up Phase 1 of their voluntary offseason programs in Tempe, the wideout posted his own training regimen from Houston amid continued trade speculation surrounding the No. 1 pass catcher in Arizona.
Hopkins’ name has been thrown around trade chatter for much of the offseason, with a report saying as many as five teams could be interested in acquiring the wideout’s services.
One of those teams are coming from the AFC.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer revealed in his weekly mailbag that the New York Jets have an interest in “making a run” at Hopkins now that the Baltimore Ravens acquired Odell Beckham. He added the Jets are interested in Hopkins, and added “conditionally.”
The Jets previously had an interest in acquiring Odell Beckham Jr. but they wanted nothing to do with his price tag of $15 million for a single year. Therefore, he took his talents to the Baltimore Ravens to seemingly play with Lamar Jackson instead.
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At 30 years old, Hopkins is still considered one of the best wide receivers in the game. Defenses are forced to attack an offense differently with the five-time Pro Bowler on the field.
Despite missing eight games last season due to a PED suspension and a knee injury, Hopkins still paced the Cardinals with 717 receiving yards and was second in receptions (64) and touchdowns (three).
Injuries have slowed him down since arriving in the desert. After playing in 16 games in 2020, his first season in the desert, Hopkins has appeared in just 19 contests the past two years combined due to injury and suspension.
The best ability is availability.
Keeping Hopkins on the books would carry cap hits of $29.9 million and $25.5 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively.