For weeks, it seemed inevitable that Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins would be traded. And then he wasn’t, even though at one point it was reportedly imminent.
Will he be?
At this point, it makes sense for the Cardinals to wait until after June 1. That would split the $22.6 million cap charge in half between 2023 and 2024.
But the problem is, as recently noted by Albert Breer of SI.com, that no one wants to pick up his $19.45 million salary for 2023. Faced with that reality, Hopkins’s best move is to love the one he’s with, since the Cardinals remain willing, for now, to proceed with that salary.
Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll stay that way. If they can’t trade him, maybe the Cardinals will cut him. His salary is non-guaranteed. It becomes guaranteed, as a practical matter, as of Week One.
Until then, the Cardinals risk that Hopkins will suffer an injury that will prevent them from cutting him, and that forces them to pay the money.
So, yes, he’s still a Cardinal. Unless he’s willing to take less, he won’t be traded. If/when he’s cut, he’ll have a chance to get whatever the open market will pay him.