DeAndre Hopkins has heard the rumblings regarding his future in Arizona. He's ignoring it for the time being.
"Obviously, you know, I've been hearing a lot of trade talks," Hopkins told A.J. Hawk and Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show. "I take things day for day, man. I don't look forward to the future. I live in the present moment. Right now, the Arizona Cardinals is the team and the roster that I'm on and I'm preparing myself for whatever the future holds. I don't really look forward to the future. I let you guys do that talk."
That talk has certainly been loud in recent weeks, especially since the Cardinals hired general manager Monti Ossenfort to replace the departed Steve Keim. Ossenfort has maintained the same line regarding Hopkins, expressing gratitude and excitement for a future spent working with Hopkins, while declining to reveal whether he's taken calls on the star receiver.
All of this could change with a phone call, of course. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport heard Hopkins' name mentioned plenty during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, but said Wednesday it's not guaranteed Hopkins will be traded during the offseason.
"Seems to be more of a resetting year in Arizona," Rapoport said on NFL Now. "We'll see what they end up doing. We'll see what he ends up doing. I just know certainly a name that came up in Indianapolis, came up plenty of times and is being discussed as a potential trade name of the next couple of weeks."
Hopkins' time in Arizona began with a bang: a 1,400-yard season and six receiving touchdowns in 2020, earning him his fourth Pro Bowl nod in six seasons. Since then, though, Hopkins has fought through health issues, tearing his MCL in 2021 and, as he admitted Wednesday, struggling to get back to 100 percent in the ensuing season, resulting in 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns in nine games played for the disappointing Cardinals in 2022.
Now, though, Hopkins says he feels excellent and is ready to return to his All-Pro form. Whether that occurs in Arizona or elsewhere remains to be seen.
"I would love to give you as much information as I can, A.J., but right now, we just been keeping our head down," Hopkins said. "Obviously, paying attention to the headlines and tabloids and stuff like that because you got to. You know, when you hear some of those trade rumors, you hate to think that all those things are lies.
"I've been traded before and heard speculation about it and I kind of shoot it off and I was like, 'Nah, the Texans would never trade me,' and then next thing you know, here I am going to the Cardinals. So we keep close attention to the tabloids but we don't put anything out in the tabloids ourselves. DeAndre Hopkins going to do what DeAndre Hopkins do when I'm on the field. That's all that matters."
