NFL rumors: 1 thing holding Cowboys back from DeAndre Hopkins trade

The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, but there is one thing that is holding them back from a trade.

The Dallas Cowboys realized this past season that they need some additional help at wide receiver. Although CeeDee Lamb tried his damndest, the Cowboys were missing Amari Cooper, who they traded ahead of last season.

While the free agency market isn’t the greatest, there is a big name that could be available on the trading block in Arizona Cardinals wideout DeAndre Hopkins. So, what is holding up a trade?

NFL Network’s Jane Slater made an appearance on “NFL Now” this past week, and revealed that Hopkins “absolutely wants to come to Dallas.” But the one thing that’s holding things up is — the Cowboys haven’t made a call to the Cardinals, and they are waiting

“I’ve repeatedly reached out to all my sources within the Cowboys organization, and they’ve had no contact with the Cardinals as it relates to D-Hop,” said Slater. “I think this is another situation where they want to find themselves getting closer to the draft, or even after it, to see where they’re at, see where things shake out, see if maybe the asking price from the Cardinals comes down before they make a move there. But at least the desire from D-Hop is to come to Dallas. They’d be one of those teams that he would be interested in coming and even playing for a little bit more than his market dictates.”

Cowboys aren’t knocking down the door to try trading for DeAndre Hopkins

While the Cowboys have yet to make an addition to their wide receiver corps, they can wait until the NFL Draft, as Slater brings up. They are slated to pick 26th in the first-round, and could be in the running for one of the top wide receiver prospects in the class. However, the rival New York Giants are picking at No. 25, and also have a need at wide receiver, despite the moves they have made so far this offseason.

In his very first season with the Cardinals in 2020, Hopkins recorded 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns on 160 targets through 16 games.

But the past two seasons, he has missed some games. In 2021, he missed three games due to a hamstring strain and an additional three games due to a torn MCL. In 2022, Hopkins was suspended for the first six games of the season after violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. He then missed the final two games of the 2022 campaign due to a knee strain.

Through nine games this past season, Hopkins caught 64-of-96 targets for 717 yards and three touchdowns.

Cowboys fans wondering if the team will make a run at Hopkins may have to wait a bit for an answer. But, based off of what Slater said, Hopkins “wants” to be a Cowboy.