DeAndre Hopkins' Top Potential Landing Spots After Cardinals Release

After sitting in a holding pattern so far this offseason, veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is free to pick the next stop in his NFL journey.

The Arizona Cardinals announced Friday they released the five-time Pro Bowler, ending his run there after three seasons. The team tried and failed to find a trade partner before deciding to move on.

Hopkins will almost certainly have to take a pay cut from his two-year, $54.5 million extension wherever he signs, but he might prefer to have the flexibility that entering free agency provides.

Here are some of the teams that make the most sense for the 30-year-old.

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Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs showed in 2022 they can win a title without a bona fide No. 1 wideout. JuJu Smith-Schuster's 933 yards were the most by a Chiefs wide receiver this past season.

With Smith-Schuster gone, Kansas City might be looking for Kadarius Toney to take a step forward in his first full season with the team. The same goes for 2022 second-round pick Skyy Moore, who had 22 receptions for 250 yards as a rookie.

But Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon made the case for the Chiefs pursuing Hopkins: "To take pressure off of Travis Kelce and the team as a whole, a guy like Hopkins could be exactly what the Chiefs need to maximize their chances of repeating."

From Hopkins' perspective, playing alongside Patrick Mahomes is an easy way to rebuild his value as well if he wants to sign a short-term deal in the hope of getting one more big payday next offseason.

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Buffalo Bills

Appearing on the I Am Athlete podcast (via Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site), Hopkins laid out what he wants from his playing situation at this point in his career:

"What I want is stable management upstairs, that's something I haven't really had the past couple years of my career coming from Houston and then to Arizona. A QB who loves the game, a QB who brings everybody on board with him, not just himself but everybody around him ... and a great defense. A great defense wins championships."

He basically described the Buffalo Bills.

Head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane would give him the organizational stability he has lacked. Josh Allen is an elite quarterback and one who has built a strong bond with his teammates. For good measure, the Bills ranked fourth in defensive efficiency at Football Outsiders.

Buffalo has just $1.6 million in salary-cap space, which is a problem Kansas City ($1.1 million) would encounter too. An NFL front office is more than willing to move money around when the opportunity to get a player with Hopkins' pedigree presents itself, though.

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New York Jets

The New York Jets already signed Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman Jr. this offseason. Garrett Wilson was also the Offensive Rookie of the Year after eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards.

Wide receiver isn't a position of great need for New York.

However, the Jets know they're working against a ticking clock with Aaron Rodgers. The surefire Hall of Famer is signed through the 2026 season, but there's no guarantee he'll play out his contract.

Depending on how much Wilson grows, Hopkins could be the best pass-catcher on New York's roster. He averaged 79.7 receiving yards in his nine appearances last year compared to 64.9 for Wilson and 41.2 for Corey Davis, who was second on the team in that category.

Considering the Jets have to make every year Rodgers is on the roster count, signing Hopkins would be a worthwhile gamble.

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Best of the Rest

There are plenty of other teams that make sense but don't necessarily fit when using Hopkins' I Am Athlete interview as a guide.

Some of the teams that could give him the most money (Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears) are still rebuilding.

The Detroit Lions and New England Patriots figure to be in the middle of the pack and could certainly use a pass-catcher with Hopkins' talent. Will he want to sign on to have Jared Goff or Mac Jones be his quarterback? He didn't sound too enthused by the idea of going to New England a month ago.

Even more so than the Jets, the Dallas Cowboys could be boxed in after acquiring Brandin Cooks to fill out their receiving corps alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. It also remains to be seen the extent to which head coach Mike McCarthy wants to emphasize the running game after having signaled as much.

Maybe there's a total wild card that emerges to become the favorite to land Hopkins.

His outright release is evidence of how difficult it was to piece together a realistic trade package. Now that he's available to the highest bidder, a lot of scenarios are on the table.