NFL Rumors have begun swirling with the regular season now behind us. One of the teams that have been involved in the rumors is the Arizona Cardinals, who have already made some major changes.
On Black Monday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired after four seasons with the team. The 2022 season was a tumultuous one as the roster was hit hard by absences, but that wasn’t enough to save Kingsbury’s job.
His team had a meltdown in the second half of the season, again, and this time it was too much to ignore. Despite signing a contract extension that put him under contract through 2027 in March, Kingsbury was relieved of his duties. Arizona will also be on the lookout for a new general manager as Steve Keim, who also signed an extension through 2027, stepped down to focus on his health.
The NFL rumors will be swirling around who the Cardinals could be looking to fill those positions with. Kyler Murray, who ended the season on IR because of an ACL tear, will be part of the hiring process. If recent NFL rumors come to fruition, however, he will have a new No. 1 wide receiver to throw the ball to once he returns to the field.
According to Jordan Schultz of The Score, the Cardinals are planning to trade former All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins this offseason. Hopkins was one of the many players who missed time this season as he was suspended for the first six games of the year.
Trading Hopkins will have some hurdles. He has two years remaining on his current contract with $34.36 million and is reportedly seeking a new pact. His base salary for 2023 is $19.45 million, carrying a cap hit of $30.75 million. In addition to that, he has a full no-trade clause so he will have a say in where he ends up going.
Despite missing the first six and last two games this season, Hopkins led the Cardinals with 717 yards, catching 64 passes and three touchdowns. These NFL rumors will be something to certainly keep an eye on as we have seen the impact that a star wide receiver can have on a young quarterback.
The market for Hopkins should be robust as he showed he has plenty left in the tank in 2022, he just has to remain healthy and available. Hopkins has missed at least seven games each of the last two seasons, which could knock down the asking price a little bit.
