The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl without a star wide receiver, but they could reportedly make an elite offense even scarier by acquiring DeAndre Hopkins.
NFL insider Benjamin Albright told PHNX Cardinals that Kansas City is the "primary suitor" for Hopkins. He doesn't know the draft compensation the Cardinals would receive, but he said it's more likely they get a second-round pick than a first.
After the 2022 season, theScore's Jordan Schultz reported that the Cardinals plan to trade Hopkins this offseason.
Arizona hired a new general manager and head coach after a disappointing four-win season, and Hopkins is set to make $19.45 million (with a $30.75 million cap hit) in 2023. The Cardinals could seek a clean slate by moving the three-time All-Pro wideout, who turns 31 in June.
Hopkins began his Cardinals career by tallying 1,407 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. However, multiple lower body injuries limited him to 10 games in 2021, and he served a six-game suspension to start the 2022 season for violating the NFL's PED policy.
Yet he remains an impact player when on the field. Hopkins totaled 474 receiving yards in six full games with quarterback Kyler Murray last season.
Now imagine what he can accomplish when catching passes from Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs flourished without a star replacement for Tyreek Hill, but they could still benefit by solidifying the position this offseason. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a free agent after garnering 78 catches for 933 yards on a one-year deal. The depth chart features several talented question marks in Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Adding Hopkins could be great news for Kansas City, but terrible for all opposing defenses.
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Originally Posted by The Franchise:
You would think that we would be. That PED suspension might fuck us though because it got rid of his no trade clause.
Eh - again, I think he effectively has one.
If the Cardinals say "We need you to bonus out your salary to effectuate a deal" and if he doesn't like the answer when he responds "to where?" then he can tell them to pound sand.
I don't see anybody simply absorbing his $19 million base next season. He's going to have to cooperate to get a deal done. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Hmmm....they'd be an interesting spot for him as well.
Wonder if he and Diggs would complement each other. Probably? They could use Diggs a little more downfield and have Hopkins backfill the underneath routes that Diggs was running while Davis was out there dropping passes last season.
Yuck. Imma pretend none of you fellas pointed this out.
I don't know how they make it work capwise though. That would take a ton to work around because they're pretty short on space in 2024. [Reply]
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501:
I still love the idea of getting DHop. I guess one thing that is a little alarming is that the new scouting report seems to be he doesn’t get open like he used to but he will catch every damn ball you throw his way no matter how close it is. I wonder if that’s more suited for a heave ball qb than an efficient qb like mahomes. But no doubt mahomes would slay and I just want him to have a weapon so we can stop the narrative that he doesn’t need weapons.
Man do you remember all those tight-window throws to JuJu and even MVS last year, where there was literally no separation?
Now you got a guy who is the best in the NFL at that shit.
Mahomes will do this all fucking season with D-Hop.
In '21 and prior, the tight window throws plagued us because Tyreek (and others) would often double-clutch the ball and it would bounce to a defender for a turnover.
I wouldn't say Mahomes is scared to make those throws or prefers not to because of his own skills, I'd say he's just been burned by his receivers in the past. [Reply]
He's due, what, $20 million this year on his present deal? So let's say that's restructured into some sort of bonus whereby $8 million of it is absorbed by Arizona and we take $12 million of it. I'd be willing to add 2/$32 on top of that with say $14 million in year 1 and $18 million in year 2.
So the 'new' contract becomes 3 years, $44 million with years 1 and 2 being guaranteed at $26 million total and year 3 being something of an option year.
This is still a 31 yr old WR who's yards/target fell pretty hard last season despite his catch% remaining stable, so it tells you he simply lost explosion last season. I'm not giving nearly $20 million/season for a guy's 31-33 seasons.
At 30 years old Julio Jones, who was simply better than Hopkins in every meaningful way, was still one of the best WRs in football. At 32 he was a journeyman. The wall is real and the threat of it should not be ignored.
Julio Jones is 110% an exception and NOT the norm. The wheels fell off and his body folded. How many more examples are there out there of an all-time great wide receiver having zero left in the tank after the age of 30? I have 15+ examples of all-time greats that played at an extremely high level well into their 30s. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Eh - again, I think he effectively has one.
If the Cardinals say "We need you to bonus out your salary to effectuate a deal" and if he doesn't like the answer when he responds "to where?" then he can tell them to pound sand.
I don't see anybody simply absorbing his $19 million base next season. He's going to have to cooperate to get a deal done.
Brilliant!
So he basically still has a no trade clause, this is going to happen! [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dante84:
In '21 and prior, the tight window throws plagued us because Tyreek (and others) would often double-clutch the ball and it would bounce to a defender for a turnover.
I wouldn't say Mahomes is scared to make those throws or prefers not to because of his own skills, I'd say he's just been burned by his receivers in the past.
Spot on, notice he trusted JuJu and Fortson. Guys that havent burned him.
Bill Belichick on DeAndre Hopkins: "If you open NFL receiver in the dictionary, his picture is next to it. Gets open and catches the ball. Doesn't matter what the route is, doesn't matter what the coverage is, doesn't matter where the ball's thrown, or what the situation [is]." pic.twitter.com/Oso5E2XNUu
Originally Posted by chiefforlife:
Brandon Cooks trade 2023 5th and 2024 6th.
Is Hopkins better than Cooks, yes but Cooks is very good and still very productive.
Hopkins trade 2023 4th and 2024 5th. That should get it done. I just dont see a 3rd after the Cooks deal.
Cards need another RB, a 4th and CEH could be another option. He is still a 1st round RB on a rookie contract. They may feel its enough sweetner to do it.
Cards threw in a broken David Johnson to sweeten the deal in the trade for Hopkins, you never know.
Something isn't right with Cooks. On paper he looks nice, but every team/HC has basically bailed on him after just a season or two. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ForeverIowan:
Julio Jones is 110% an exception and NOT the norm. The wheels fell off and his body folded. How many more examples are there out there of an all-time great wide receiver having zero left in the tank after the age of 30? I have 15+ examples of all-time greats that played at an extremely high level well into their 30s.
Would you put Hopkins in the 'all time great' camp?
Because for many of those guys, they became all time greats by VIRTUE of their performance in their 30s. It's a self-selecting group; it's how they accumulated those numbers - by simply continuing to play at a very high level for another 3-4 years into their 30s.
For example, at 29 Chad Johnson looked for all the world like an 'all-time great' and then...wasn't. Nobody considers Roddy White an 'all time great' but through his late 20s he put up 6 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and averaged almost 1,300 yards/season over that span.
He plays 3-4 more years at that level and his numbers land him in the top 15-20 of all time. But he didn't. He isn't considered an 'all time great' BECAUSE his didn't perform into his mid 30s.
Playing well into their mid-30s is what makes the majority of these guys fall into 'all-time great' status with notable exceptions like Julio Jones and Calvin Johnson who took the Sandy Koufax/Pedro Martinez route and were just so damn dominant in their primes that they didn't need longevity.
I don't think Hopkins falls into that latter category and I don't see anything to confidently state he'd qualify for the former.
And again - I'm offering him $15 million/season here; i'm not saying he'll suck. But I think I'm pricing in the risk of collapse into my offer. [Reply]
I know we made due with less than stellar wr play but we lost a 1000 yard receiver and we have to do something to replace that. We can go WR in the first but Andy and rookie receivers never have an impact year 1. We should be all over this move. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MahomesMagic:
Hopkins isn't too much money.
They could easily fit his current cap hit in.
Uuuuhhhh-no they can't. Current available cap is a little over $9.5M. Before you start on the Jones deal, it's not officially done yet and no one outside of Veach and Jones's people know what the terms are.
As much as I'd like to lay a 50 burger on the hated Raiders (and 49 on the Donkeys) every game, I never want to see a repeat of the DICK Vermin years again. [Reply]
Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin both were incredibly productive their rookie seasons. Has quite a bit more to do with the guys we take. We've taken 3 WRs in the first 3 rounds for Reids entire tenure here. Conley, Hardman and Moore. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
Something isn't right with Cooks. On paper he looks nice, but every team/HC has basically bailed on him after just a season or two.
Yeah I agree but Hopkins is almost in the same category it just takes 3/4 seasons. Is that their fault? Is it the teams fault?
Dont know for sure but thats what makes WRs like this available to us.
No better team or Coach than Chiefs/Andy to handle a player on his 2nd or 3rd chance. (or 5th/6th in the Cooks case, LOL) [Reply]
