NFL Rumors: Lamar Jackson doesn’t want it all, DeAndre Hopkins trade roadblock and Anthony Richardson’s goes full Zach Wilson
NFL Rumors: DeAndre Hopkins trade has a litany of roadblocks
Fans have been waiting on a DeAndre Hopkins trade for months at this point. It’s clear that the Arizona Cardinals don’t want to pay the soon-to-be 31-year-old wide receiver, Hopkins apparently wants a new home, and it just feels like a move is inevitable before the end of the offseason — it just hasn’t happened yet.
There has been no shortage of interested parties, per numerous reports. Teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and several others have been connected to D-Hop but the trade still hasn’t happened.
Now we might have some answers as to why.
According to a report from ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, Hopkins’ salary is a major hangup right now. Based on the receiver’s current deal, teams would be taking on a cap hit of $19.45 million if they traded for Hopkins. Meanwhile, the Cardinals would take on a $21 million dead money penalty and save just $9 million if he was traded before June 1.
Subsequently, teams are trying to get Arizona to essentially foot part of the bill if they trade him. That, in turn, could mean that a trade is more likely to happen post-June 1 so that the so-called bill would be less devastating for the Cards to take on. Or it could also mean that, if the Cardinals aren’t willing to do so, that Hopkins doesn’t move after all.
And as it specifically pertains to the Patriots, Graziano also reported that New England hiring Bill O’Brien to be their head coach is likely a non-starter for landing Hopkins given the wide receiver’s history with the new Pats OC when they were together in Houston. After all, it was O’Brien who traded Hopkins to Arizona for pennies on the dollar at that time.
Put simply, there are a lot of holdups to making this trade happen. With that said, Graziano still noted that the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Giants appear to remain interested.