By James Jefferson
For the last three months, rumors have been swirling around the Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and the potential of him being traded. The team has undergone a complete turnover in their front office with the hiring of a new general manager Monti Ossenfort and a new head coach Jonathon Gannon. He’s coming off a down year where he missed eight games due to being suspended for six games and missing the final two games due to a knee injury. Hopkins is under contract with the Cardinals for two more seasons with a heavy salary cap hit of $30.75 million this year and $26.2 million in 2024. While the financial piece does complicate things, any team would find a way to clear space for this talented star. If a trade were to happen, it would have to be during the week of the draft. The asking price is A LOT cheaper than you might think.
What the Cardinals are looking for, according to most insiders is a second-round pick and “an additional asset”. The Chiefs currently hold picks 31 and 63 in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. With the players Kansas City has lost in free agency, it is well worth a try for general manager Brett Veach to make an offer to the Cardinals. The current depth at wide receiver for the Chiefs is thin and they are looking for a true number-one receiver outside of Travis Kelce.
Hopkins is a big, physical receiver who can stretch the field which plays right into the strengths of the Chiefs’ offense. I think this is worth the investment.
As of today, the talks have heated up with the Chiefs. Sources are saying, this may get completed by Friday. The Chiefs have lost Juju to the Pats. The Chiefs have two potential stars on the practice squad, Justyn Ross and John Ross. If Hopkins can adapt to the true spread offense of the Chiefs and be a role player, this could be a great fit. If the Chiefs do sign Hopkins this may bring other players to the table for the Chiefs.
The AFC West has tried to bolster their defenses to try and compete with the Champs, but so far this has failed them. The Chargers spent the most last season with no luck. What we see is a great talent in Justin Herbert being wasted. I doubt he signs a long-term contract with a team that has no regard for player safety or health. This is another franchise that has no front office, no coaching, and terrible medical staff.
The Broncos have traded off some of their best defensive talents prior to Sean Payton taking over as head coach. The Raiders are a dumpster fire as they have been for years, the difference now is, they have one of the worst head coaches in football, he has failed before and is proving why he went 13 years before getting another shot. The benching and ultimate release of Derek Carr was job security. He then decided to sign Jimmy G with a hitch, this signing almost didn’t happen.
Sources are telling us that wording was added to the contract without Jimmy’s agent knowing about it. This was caught 20 minutes prior to the presser. This caused a pause in the signing and almost cost them a QB. If I were Jimmy G and or his agent, I would have walked out the door and not come back. If they tried to pull this now, what is stopping them from trying something in the future? This is a poverty franchise and as long as Mark (bowl cut) Davis is running this team, Raiders fans have no hope of a winning season.
