Report: Cardinals grant teams permission to speak to DeAndre Hopkins

The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly granted teams permission to speak to wideout DeAndre Hopkins and his agent, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said.

The Cardinals have reportedly been asking for a second-round pick and more for the star wideout, and the lack of a deal yet seems to indicate that criteria has not been met yet.

The tone for the receiver trade market was set on March 19 when Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth-round pick this season and sixth-round pick in 2024.

Although Hopkins is a far more prominent name than the former Texan, Cooks has notched 1,000-yard seasons in six of his last eight years and came at a much cheaper price than what Arizona is reportedly asking for. Additionally, Hopkins has played 10 or less games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career.

The Cardinals’ initial ask, to get a second-rounder and another asset for Hopkins, seems to have fallen flat, and there are teams waiting to see the price come down in the wake of the Brandin Cooks trade. To try to facilitate something, I’m told Arizona has granted teams permission to talk to Hopkins and his agents. But the combination of his age, injury history and friction with the teams he’s played for has made him a tougher sell than I think the Cardinals anticipated. One way, creatively, they could improve the giveback from another would be to pick up part of Hopkins’s $19.45 million base salary for this year before trading him.

Hopkins had 64 receptions for 717 yards and three touchdowns in only nine games last season because of a PED suspension and knee injury.

If the Cardinals move Hopkins before June 2, it would free $8.1 million in cap space but also force the team to take a dead-money hit of $22.6 million.

With just two years and more than $34 million remaining on Hopkins’ deal, the move to let teams to speak to the Cardinals’ star allows a trade partner to feel out a potential future contract extension or negotiation.

Hopkins has been reportedly linked to the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders.