The 3-5 Cardinals are presently in last place in their division and are on the outside of the NFC playoff picture. It is of little surprise, then, that Arizona GM Steve Keim received a “flurry of trade calls” from teams interested in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). We do not know who placed the calls, but given their reported interest in other receivers, clubs like the Cowboys, Packers, and even the division-rival Rams might have checked in.
The leaguewide desire to add receiving help was on full display at the deadline, as Chase Claypool, Calvin Ridley, Kadarius Toney, and T.J. Hockenson all changed teams, and notable pass catchers like Brandin Cooks and Jerry Jeudy were the subject of trade discussions as well. At present, Hopkins is better than any of those players, and he is under club control through 2024 with no guaranteed money left on his contract, so Keim could have demanded a hefty return if he were interested in swinging a deal.
Hopkins, 30, has been terrific since returning from his six-game PED suspension. In two games this year, he has caught 22 balls for 262 yards and a score, and quarterback Kyler Murray is a noticeably better passer with Hopkins in the lineup. The Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown in a draft-day trade in April in the hopes that he and Hopkins would form a formidable 1-2 punch when Hopkins got back on the field, but Brown is on IR with a foot injury and is not expected back for a few more weeks. Following Brown’s injury, Keim traded for Panthers wideout Robbie Anderson, who has seen just 19 snaps in two games with the Cardinals as he continues to get acclimated to Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense.
When healthy, that offense — which has been without RB James Conner for the last three weeks and which was without WR Rondale Moore for the first three games of the campaign — can be a potent one. And the NFC West is not exactly a powerhouse this year, so rather than deal his top playmaker, Keim stood pat and will now look to see if Hopkins can help his club claw back onto the postseason chase.
However, Rapoport observed that it’s unclear whether Keim was unwilling to trade Hopkins, or if other teams simply didn’t meet his asking price. Hopkins, who is due base salaries of $19.5MM in 2023 and $14.9MM in 2024 — eminently reasonable figures in light of the exploding receiver market — could be on the trade block this offseason. Indeed, while his salaries are manageable, his cap charges on Arizona’s books are significant ($30.8MM in 2023 and $26.2MM in 2024) due to his prorated bonus money.
Acclimated?? To what?? The air raid Genius basically has his team huddle up and Kyler tells them “ get open” and runs around until someone is. Kingsbury is a joke.