Fresh off a loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, the Arizona Cardinals received bad news on Wednesday. DeAndre Hopkins will miss the remainder of the regular season with a sprained knee.
Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN note that Arizona hopes to get its star receiver back at some point during the postseason.
To say that this is a massive blow for the Cardinals would be an understatement. It threatens to derail their Super Bowl hopes.
Acquired from the Houston Texans ahead of the 2020 season, Hopkins has been among the most productive receivers in the NFL over the years. From 2014-20, he averaged 99 receptions for 1,315 yards and eight touchdowns.
Sidelined earlier this season to a hamstring injury, the Clemson product returned in Week 13, catching seven passes over the past two games. It’s pretty clear he has not been healthy since suffering the aforementioned injury back in Week 8.
Even without star Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey in the mix Monday night, Hopkins caught just 5-of-12 passes for 54 yards in Arizona’s 30-23 loss.
Hopkins has seen his production decline this season, primarily due to injury. Remember, he hauled in 115 passes for 1,407 yards in his first season with the Cardinals.
Now that he is sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, Arizona will be relying on Christian Kirk, Rondale Moore and veteran A.J. Green to pick up the slack. For his part, Green caught seven passes for 102 yards on 10 targets Week 14 against the Rams.
Arizona finds itself at 10-3 on the season and tied with the Packers and Buccaneers for the top spot in the NFC. It is also one game ahead of the aforementioned Rams in the NFC West race. The team closes out its regular season with outings against the Lions, Colts, Cowboys and Seahawks.
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