DeAndre Hopkins' Future in Early Stages of Evaluation by Cardinals amid Trade Rumors

The Arizona Cardinals are still in the process of evaluating DeAndre Hopkins' future with the organization.

Appearing on the Bickley & Marotta show on Arizona Sports 98.7 (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk), Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said they are in the "very early stages" of making any decisions about Hopkins.

"I had a great talk with D-Hop a couple weeks ago," Ossenfort said. "It was great, I kinda just explained to him what my philosophy was. It was a great conversation. D-Hop's been a great player in this league for a long time. I'm excited to work with him."

This echoes what Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill told reporters during Ossenfort's introductory press conference Jan. 17.

"We talked about a number of things, but those are some of the things [Ossenfort's] going to be evaluating," Bidwill said when asked about Hopkins' status. "As he said, he's only been in the building a few hours. He doesn't even know his way around, so he'll be working on that in the coming weeks. I'm sure we will talk about that more."

Per Albert Breer of The MMQB, Hopkins met Ossenfort for the first time at the Cardinals' facilities Feb. 3.

As the Cardinals move into a new era with Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon taking over, Hopkins could be expendable if they want to add extra draft picks.

There are potential obstacles that could impact any return Arizona might get from a Hopkins trade. He'll turn 31 on June 6, has a $30.75 million cap hit in 2023, per Spotrac, and has only appeared in 19 games over the past two seasons.

Six of those 19 missed games were due to a suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Trading or releasing Hopkins before June 1 would save the Cardinals $8.15 million against the cap next season.

After returning from his six-game suspension last year, he played well with 64 receptions, 717 yards and two touchdowns. The five-time Pro Bowler sat out the Cardinals' final two games with a knee injury.

Arizona acquired Hopkins in a March 2020 trade with the Houston Texans. He signed a two-year, $54.5 million extension with the Cardinals in September 2020 that runs through the 2024 season.