GLENDALE, Ariz. — It's no secret longtime NFL wide receiver and five time Pro Bowler DeAndre Hopkins isn't likely to play for the Arizona Cardinals next season.
He's been in trade rumors throughout the offseason, and his $30.7M cap hit for 2023 and $26.2 mark the following year make him a logical piece for the rebuilding Cardinals to move on from.
Hopkins hasn't shied away from talking openly about playing elsewhere, and in a recent podcast interview he discussed the five current NFL quarterbacks he would most want throwing him the ball - and his team's current signal caller, Kyler Murray, didn't make the list.
Hopkins listed Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, Buffalo's Josh Allen, Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts and LA's Justin Herbert, while saying he wants a quarterback that "loves the game of football".
Hopkins did heap praise on Murray later in the show, and while it's likely he was omitted because of his current injury Locked on NFL hosts Ross Jackson and Luke Braun aren't afraid to say what many others are thinking.
"I'm not afraid to say this, he's not on the top five list because he's not as good as the five guys [Hopkins] named," Jackson said. "He shouldn't be on the top five list if it were objective, but it also shouldn't be objective," Braun added.
Murray was the AP Rookie of the Year in 2019 and made back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances in 2020 and 2021, but he has yet to top 4,000 yards passing in a single season and last year (2022) was the first year of his career where he posted less than 10 interceptions, and it was in part because he only played 11 games.
Murray's focus on football has been called into question in the past thanks to his known video game hobby, although Hopkins was quick to say Murray does love football on the podcast.
Still, it won't be a surprise at all to see Hopkins playing elsewhere in 2023, and if he has any say at all he could end up playing alongside one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL - very likely someone on the above list.