DeAndre Hopkins Deal Another Big Trade For Cardinals, Steve Keim

[Big Red]

The announcement of the trade was delayed as the NFL continues to navigate a world with COVID-19. Originally, the NFL said players moving teams were in need of physicals before any transactions could be announced. Thursday, the league pivoted, saying once a contract had been agreed to and a copy of that contract had been sent to the player and agent, a deal could be announced. That applied to both free agents and traded players.


Hopkins drops into an offense that can now feature a wide receiving corps including Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. Drake, who remains a free agent but who was given the transition tag and should return, would be in the backfield with Murray. And the move could open up the Cardinals to use their No. 8 pick overall in the draft for either a young offensive tackle or a defensive stud.


"I've loved DeAndre since he was at Clemson and followed him throughout his whole career," Fitzgerald said. "Obviously I've seen his career unfold in Houston, and to be able to have him as a teammate, it's going to be something special.


"But it's difficult to get too excited about anything with everything (coronavirus-related) transpiring around us. You really see how unimportant sports is."


Financially, the Cardinals benefit, simply by moving the $10-plus million of guaranteed money for Johnson, who goes to Houston as their main back. The Cardinals absorb $6 million of dead money from Johnson's deal on their cap, but even if Drake doesn't get a long-term deal and has to play on his $8.4 million tag salary, the Cardinals will still have about the same outlay on the cap as if Johnson alone would've counted had he stayed.


Hopkins has three years left on his contract at incredibly reasonable salaries, including only $12.5 million this season. He reportedly wants a raise and new contract – a topic that would likely had been known to the Cards prior to a deal.


"What we were able to do is add substantial talent and I'm really excited," team chairman and president Michael Bidwill said. "We've really weaponized this offense of Kliff Kingsbury."

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