DeAndre Hopkins released by Cardinals, making wide receiver a free agent
BOSTON -- DeAndre Hopkins is officially a free agent.
The veteran wide receiver was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, after the team failed to find a willing trade partner.
We have released Deandre Hopkins. pic.twitter.com/POnAb3uhWH
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 26, 2023
Hopkins, 30, played the last three seasons in Arizona, after spending the first seven years of his career with the Texans. He was limited to just 10 games in 2021 due to hamstring and knee injuries, and he was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season, in which he played just nine games.
Read I got on DeAndre Hopkins -- and why some teams believed he would get released -- was $19M salary always prohibitive, even if non-guaranteed. Teams that wanted reworked deal at lesser clip weren't convinced he would take. Odell Beckham's big $ made taking less even tougher
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 26, 2023
Despite the limited action, Hopkins still caught 64 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns last season. In his career, Hopkins has caught 853 passes for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns. He ranks 28th on the all-time receptions list, 36th on the all-time receiving yards list, and he's tied for 46th on the all-time touchdown receptions list.
Hopkins' name has been thrown around regarding several teams with potential interest, and that list has certainly included the Patriots. Other potential teams include the Chiefs and Bills in the AFC, while a return to the Carolinas -- he's from South Carolina and played collegiately at Clemson -- could also be in the cards.
"What I want is stable management upstairs, that's something I haven't really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona," Hopkins recently said on the "I Am Athlete" podcast. "A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him, not just himself but everybody around him. And a great defense. A great defense wins championships."