Cardinals Have Given DeAndre Hopkins Permission To Seek Trade

Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the Cardinals have given WR DeAndre Hopkins permission to seek a trade with another team in an attempt to facilitate a trade. 

According to Breer, the Cardinals’ initial asking price of a second-round pick and another asset for Hopkins “seems to have fallen flat” and teams are now waiting them out to see if the price comes down in the wake of the Brandin Cooks deal.

Breer adds that Hopkins’ combination “age, injury history and friction with the teams he’s played” for has made it harder to find a trade than the Cardinals likely anticipated.

As for what the Cardinals could do to improve the situation, Breer suggests that Arizona could pick up part of Hopkins’s $19.45 million base salary for this year before trading him.

Last week, Aaron Wilson reported that there is a lot of trade interest for Hopkins right now, with the Bills headlining the interested teams. 

Wilson added the Chiefs are also among the interested parties, but Hopkins’ financial expectations could impact whether or not Kansas City gets a deal done. It’s possible Hopkins wants a new deal as a part of the trade. 

The Ravens are not among the bidders for Hopkins despite their need at receiver, per Wilson.

Hopkins is owed over $33 million in the final two years of his deal but has no remaining guarantees. He’s still been highly productive although he’ll turn 31 this year. 

Hopkins, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Texans back in 2013. Houston later traded Hopkins to the Cardinals in return for David Johnson and draft picks. 

Hopkins was in the third year of his five-year, $81 million extension that included $49 million guaranteed when he agreed to a two-year, $54.5 million extension with the Cardinals. 

Hopkins is owed base salaries of $19,450,000 and $14,915,000 over the final two years of the agreement, which is likely why he’ll want a new deal.

The Cardinals would take on $22.6 million of dead money and create $8.15 million of cap space by trading him.

In 2022, Hopkins appeared in nine games for the Cardinals and caught 64 passes for 717 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

We’ll have more on Hopkins as the news is available.