Cardinals GM Steve Keim said they have opened contract negotiations for WR DeAndre Hopkins and RB Kenyan Drake.
“Both those guys are guys we’d like to have long-term,” Keim said, via AzCardinals.com. “Again, if it makes our organization better and the opportunity arises, we will certainly do that. I’ve had communication with both their agents. We’ll continue to pound away. The draft is the most important part right now, but we will continue to have ongoing talks with both of those players’ agents.”
It was recently reported that Hopkins and Arizona planned to open extension talks at some point, so this doesn’t come as a surprise. Hopkins is reportedly seeking a raise with three years still remaining on his contract which is part of the reason Houston elected to trade him.
Hopkins, 27, was taken with the No. 27 overall pick back in 2013. He’s currently entering the third year of his five-year, $81 million extension that includes $49 million guaranteed.
In 2019, Hopkins appeared in 15 games for the Texans and caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 18 yards.
Drake, 26, is a former third-round pick of the Dolphins back in 2016. Miami traded him to the Cardinals before the 2019 deadline in return for a conditional sixth-round pick that can become a fifth-rounder.
Drake just finished the final year of his four-year, $3.5 million contract and made a base salary of $810,000 for the 2019 season.
Arizona opted to transition tag Drake, which allowed him to negotiate with other teams much like a restricted free agent while Arizona had the right to match any offer he received.
The transition tag will cost the Cardinals $8,483,000 fully guaranteed for the 2020 season.
In 2019, Drake appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and Cardinals and rushed for 817 yards on 170 carries (4.8 YPC) with eight touchdowns to go along with 50 receptions for 385 yards receiving.
We had him included in our Top 100 Available 2020 Free Agents list.
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