One of the best wide receivers in the league is now available via trade. The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly now willing to trade star WR DeAndre Hopkins, signaling the start of rebuild. However, the Cards aren’t parting with their best asset THAT easily. Jeremy Fowler confirmed that Arizona is looking for a decent haul for Hopkins: a “Christian McCaffrey-esque” package involving second-round picks or lower and a player.
“But Hopkins, the issue is the compensation. Talking to other teams, they say that Arizona has wanted a second-round pick and more, maybe even as high as like a Christian McCaffrey package. We’re talking second-, third-, fourth-round picks.”
Additionally, this desired package is reportedly holding back any trade talks for DeAndre Hopkins, per Fowler. Teams around the league believe that the Cardinals need to lower the price for DHop for a trade to be completed.
Video: “Talking to other teams around the league… Arizona will have to come off their asking price.”pic.twitter.com/ELjXBRCYaN
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 25, 2023
After letting go of their GM-head coach combo in the offseason, the Cardinals are looking to start a rebuild. That starts with trading their best weapon in Hopkins. Hopkins is a damn good player, who’s easily a top-10 WR if he’s healthy. He’s also 30 years old, and doesn’t fit the timeline of the new-look Arizona team. It makes more sense for the team to trade him and get a young player and some decent picks in return for Hopkins.
As for Hopkins, the Cardinals WR still has a lot of juice left in the tank. Despite playing just 9 games in 2022, DHop was able to compile 717 yards on 62 receptions last year. There’s a reason why he’s gaining interest from teams like the Chiefs, Bills, and Patriots. He’s a talented wide receiver who will do wonders if he’s playing with any star QB in the league.
The Cardinals will need to straddle the fine line between settling for a good enough offer and maximizing the trade. As we’ve seen in the past, asking for a price too high for a player will turn off many teams from negotiating for a trade. However, they also don’t want to settle for pennies on the dollar for a guy like DeAndre Hopkins. We’ll see how the new management deals with this situation as the offseason progresses.