Though the transaction became official on Tuesday, the Cardinals first announced they were set to release receiver DeAndre Hopkins nearly a week ago.
But Thursday was the first day since then that head coach Jonathan Gannon has addressed the media.
He said in his press conference that releasing Hopkins was the best thing for the team.
“Yeah, all the factors that were in play, we just felt it was the best thing for the team to play with who we have,” Gannon said. “I mean, it’s really no big deal to me. We were operating under the premise that he was going to be here. And now we’re not. So, we’re moving on.”
With Hopkins’ departure, Arizona does not have a marquee name at receiver. But Gannon said he still likes his team’s group.
“I’m very pleased with our receivers right now,” Gannon said. “We talk about with our guys is, if you carve out a role for yourself, we’ll use you in that role.
“Obviously, [Hopkins is] a great player. We didn’t have to play against him [with the Eagles] because of the suspension or whatever. But with the guys that we have on the team right now, they present some challenges to the defense with their skillsets. And that makes it tough from a defensive perspective because you can’t do certain things that you always want to do because of their skillset. So, I think just making sure we evaluate that with the guys that we have out there, getting the best 11 out there — who’s our one, two, three, four, five, six — and putting them guys in position to make plays for us and use their skillsets accordingly, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Cardinals did not have a receiver reach 1,000 yards last year, but Hopkins led the club with 717 yards receiving on 64 catches. Marquise Brown, who remains with Arizona, had 67 catches for 709 yards with three touchdowns in 12 games. Rondale Moore finished with 41 receptions for 414 yards with a TD in eight contests.
Gannon said that right now in the offseason program, he’s not looking for someone to replace Hopkins at receiver.
“What I’m looking for is to play together winning football as a team,” Gannon said. “And that’s not just the receiver room, that’s the tight ends group, the O-line group, quarterback group, running back group, the defense, special teams, the kicking.
“Football is never about one guy, never has [been], never will be. And we’ve all got to pull our weight.”