DeAndre Hopkins not officially released, slim opportunity to trade him remains

News came Friday that the Arizona Cardinals had released veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins. However, due to a four-day break over the Memorial Day weekend, the transaction has not been made official yet, NBC’s Pro Football Talk reported.

That means there is a small window for the Cardinals to still work out a trade for the five-time Pro Bowl receiver. Arizona could delay the move even further until Friday if they wanted to explore that option. The team could also do nothing, in which case Hopkins’ release would become official at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Although a trade for Hopkins is technically still possible, it seems unlikely. Other than the fact that time is not on the Cardinals’ side, there’s also the issue of finding a franchise willing to take on his contract. His current deal carries a cap hit of $22.6 million for the upcoming season, all of which Arizona is set to absorb.

DeAndre Hopkins has been with the Cardinals for the past three seasons after spending the first seven years of his career with the Houston Texans. He has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark six times in his 10-year career. The receiver missed the first six games of 2022 due to a suspension and played only nine total but still managed 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns.

Several teams have already expressed interest in bringing on Hopkins once he is released. But if one decides they don’t want to take the chance that he doesn’t pick them, a trade is still technically on the table.

Chiefs, Bills ‘lurking’ for DeAndre Hopkins

Out of the teams interested or projected to be interested, the Chiefs and Bills stood out amongst franchises looking to add Hopkins. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler broke down the latest on Hopkins’ potential destination on SportsCenter this past weekend.

“Well, the feeling among some around the league I’ve talked to is that the Bills and the Chiefs will be involved to some extent, that they’re at least lurking here,” Fowler said. “Now the Chiefs have checked in on this. They’ve at least got the lowdown when he was talking to Arizona for a potential trade of what he might need for a contract, but they’re a little tight on the salary cap, less than $2 million in cap space.”

The Bills find themselves in the similar situation, according to Fowler.

“Now when I talked to teams, they bring up the Bills as a possibility,” Fowler said. “They’re at least being linked to Hopkins, but they’re in a similar boat, only $2-3 million in cap space. How far are they willing to go in the money because you gotta remember Odell Beckham got $15 million guaranteed on a one year deal from Baltimore. Hopkins has been more productive so he can make an argument that maybe he deserves that or more.”

Other than Kansas City and Buffalo, the New York Jets could also be a team to watch. They recently traded for four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and have the third-best chance of landing Hopkins, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.