Report: DeAndre Hopkins opens Cards’ cap space with contract restructure
Mar 15, 2022, 6:52 AM | Updated: 11:51 am
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) gives Los Angeles Rams safety Jordan Fuller a stiff-arm after making a catch during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Receiver DeAndre Hopkins is putting money in the pocket to help his Arizona Cardinals open $10.7 million in cap space with a contract restructure, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
The $10.7 million was written into his current deal as a roster bonus that would have been owed on Sunday, according to Spotrac.
The restructured bonus splits the total into three portions that count against the cap this year and the next two. Two-thirds of it, or $7.1 million, is cut from the cap in 2022.
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Hopkins’ projected cap hit now sits at $18 million.
Hopkins self-negotiated and signed his current contract in September 2020 and remains under contract through 2024.
The restructuring of a star contract is something Arizona general manager Steve Keim has done before to open cap space. Notably, he restructured pass rusher Chandler Jones’ deal in 2019 and left tackle D.J. Humphries’ contract in 2020.
This offseason, the Cardinals have already found space by reworking deals for backup outside linebacker Devon Kennard and starting left guard Justin Pugh. They’ve used that cash to re-sign tight end Zach Ertz and running back James Conner on the offensive side thus far.
Hopkins is coming off an MCL injury in his knee that ended his 2021 season and required surgery in mid-December.
He finished the season with 42 catches for 572 yards and eight touchdowns and was reportedly hoping to return in the postseason had Arizona made a run beyond the NFC Wild Card round.
