PHOENIX — A former Pro Bowl Houston Texans receiver is now looking for a new team.
In a tweet Friday, the Arizona Cardinals announced DeAndre Hopkins had been released. Hopkins had been in Arizona since being traded there by the Texans in March of 2020. Houston got running back David Johnson and draft picks.
Hopkins was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He played seven seasons in Houston before spending the last three in Arizona, where the last two, he was reunited with another former Texans’ star JJ Watt.
It already wasn’t likely Hopkins would be back with the Cardinals for another season as trade rumors swirled.
During a recent podcast, Hopkins was asked the five quarterbacks he’d want throwing him the ball. The Cardinals’ quarterback, Kyler Murray, wasn’t one of them.
The five he picked were Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Philly’s Jalen Hurts, and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert.
Hopkins added he wanted a quarterback who “loves the game of football.”
Despite the omission, Hopkins did have positive things to say about Murray later in the podcast.