The Cardinals’ wide receiver situation has changed considerably this year. Trades and unavailability keep updating Kyler Murray‘s aerial personnel, but his top weapon is on his way back.
Arizona activated DeAndre Hopkins on Monday, waiving kicker Matt Ammendola to make room on its 53-man roster. Hopkins, who served a six-game PED suspension, will begin his third Cardinals season Thursday night against the Saints.
Kliff Kingsbury said Hopkins is not expected to be on a snap count. That will be good news for a scuffling Cardinals offense and a receiving chomping at the bit to resume his career. Hopkins, 30, has not played since Week 13 of last season.
This offseason brought in Marquise Brown, acquired for a package headlined by a first-round pick, but the Brown-Hopkins tandem’s crossover continues to be delayed. Hopkins’ May PED ban meant Brown would be bumped up in Arizona’s receiver hierarchy, and just as Hopkins returns, Brown will miss several weeks due to a foot fracture. The Cardinals have played without A.J. Green and Rondale Moore for stretches and lost Antoine Wesley for the season due to a quadriceps tear. Brown’s injury prompted the Cards to swing a trade for Robbie Anderson.
Arizona’s 22nd-ranked offense produced just three points against a struggling Seahawks defense; Hopkins’ availability will be critical to potential improvement. Hopkins only missed two games during his seven-season Texans tenure — a span that produced three straight first-team All-Pro nods — and caught a career-high 115 passes for 1,407 yards in a second-team All-Pro slate to start his Cardinals career. But a hamstring injury and an MCL sprain limited the star pass-catcher to 11 games in 2021. That significantly affected the Cards’ offense, and another late-season swoon commenced.
Hopkins’ contract runs through 2024. His $27.25M-per-year average made a notable impact on the receiver market this year, but the 10th-year veteran’s cap number spikes from $15.7M in 2022 to $30.75M in 2023. The Cards could adjust that, as no void years are presently attached to this deal, but some questions have emerged about Hopkins’ status with the team beyond this season. For now, however, it will be all systems go for Hopkins, who will team with Anderson as the 2-4 Cardinals attempt to move back on track.
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