DeAndre Hopkins has broken his silence after it was announced that he had been released by the Arizona Cardinals.
The NFC West franchise released a statement on Friday confirming that Hopkins had been released following three years at the State Farm Stadium. The 30-year-old was traded to the Cardinals from the Houston Texans in 2020, but is now a free agent.
After being the 27th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Hopkins was traded to the Cardinals with the Texans receiving a second round pick and a fourth round pick. Now, though, after the Cardinals tried to trade the wide receiver, he is now a free agent and able to speak to potential new teams straight away.
Hours after it was confirmed that Hopkins had been released by the Cardinals, the receiver posted a tweet where he said thank you to the franchise. On Twitter, Hopkins wrote: “THANK YOU AZ ALWAYS LOVE!"
The news that Hopkins has been released by the Cardinals is likely to lead to a number of teams with room left on their salary cap to make a move. The New England Patriots , Buffalo Bills , Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens are just some of the teams all likely to be interested.
Hopkins recently appeared on the IAmAthlete podcast, where he appeared to aim a subtle dig at the Cardinals. "What I want is stable management upstairs," Hopkins added.
"I think that’s something I haven’t really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston (Texans) to being in Arizona. I’ve been through three to four GMs through my career. So stable management — a QB who loves the game. A QB who brings everybody on board with him and pushes not just himself, but people around him. I don’t need a great QB. I’ve done it with subpar QBs — just a QB who loves the game like I do."
Hopkins’ remarks about quarterbacks may have been interpreted as him talking about Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Hopkins then clarified his position on his now-former team mate and was rather careful with his words.
"I think Kyler is a quarterback who loves the game as well," said Hopkins. "But he’s injured. So right now, for me, I’m playing with Colt McCoy, who I love. So who knows? Right now, I don’t have a Pro Bowl quarterback."
Over the course of his NFL career, Hopkins has been selected for the Pro Bowl five times and had close to 11,300 receiving yards with 71 touchdowns. A number of teams across the NFL are likely to be already weighing up whether to make a move for the veteran wide receiver.
