The Arizona Cardinals have a new general manager after officially hiring Monti Ossenfort earlier this week. One of the first things that will land on Ossenfort's desk that will need addressing is the status of star wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
Hopkins is under contract through the 2024 season, but the 30-year-old carries a $30.75 million cap hit for next year. That alone should give the organization some eagerness to work out a solution with the receiver to get some cap relief as it looks to retool the roster in Ossenfort's image. As for Hopkins, he has no remaining guaranteed money left on this deal, so he could be looking for an extension that ensures him more guaranteed capital going forward.
"We talked about a number of things, but those are some of the things (Ossenfort's) going to be evaluating," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill told reporters during Ossenfort's introductory press conference Tuesday when asked about Hopkins, via NFL.com. "As he said, he's only been in the building a few hours. He doesn't even know his way around, so he'll be working on that in the coming weeks. I'm sure we will talk about that more."
Of course, there's also the option of trading Hopkins this offseason, which there have already been murmurs to that ultimately being the franchise's likely course of action. However, Hopkins possesses a no-trade clause, so he would have a say in where he ends up if the Cardinals decide to deal him.
The five-time Pro Bowl receiver last played a full season in 2020, but is among one of the more talented pass catchers in the league when healthy. In nine games played this season, Hopkins caught 64 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns. That pace would have put Hopkins on track for a career-high 121 receptions over a 17-game schedule to go along with 1,354 receiving yards. He was limited to nine games due to a six-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.
