What is the future of DeAndre Hopkins with the Cardinals? That remains TBD.
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort, appearing on the "Bickley and Marotta" show Thursday, certainly sounded like a man who could see Hopkins still playing in Arizona in 2023 while leaving the door open to other options. Not a huge surprise this early in the offseason and in Ossenfort's tenure.
"I had a great talk with D-Hop a couple weeks ago," Ossenfort said. "I explained to him what my philosophy was. It was a great conversation. D-Hop has been a great player in this league for a long time. I'm excited to work with him. I think any roster decisions like that, we are in the very early stages right now.
"From afar, I've had to compete against -- not me personally, but I've (worked) for teams that have to compete against D-Hop, I know what a problem and a stress he puts on defenses. I'm excited to have D-Hop on the team. Whether it's D-Hop's situation or anyone's situation, we are in the stages of evaluating that."
The Hopkins situation has been cloudy. He posted on social media earlier this offseason with a cryptic "Forever grateful ..." as the caption. His contract is a factor in the conversation. He is set to have a salary cap hit of about $30 million this season, and has no more guaranteed money left on his current deal. He would create about a $22M cap hit if he is traded.
One nugget, reported recently by CBS Sports' Joel Corry, is that Hopkins' suspension in 2022 voided the no-trade clause in his contract. That would seem to open up avenues for the Cardinals if they choose to go that way. But Hopkins remains one of the best wideouts in the NFL, and that's always nice to have on a roster.
