The Cardinals released receiver DeAndre Hopkins on May 26, and he has remained a free agent since.
Hopkins visited the Patriots and Titans, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports both teams remain interested. Pelissero added that the sides have had communication this week, but no signing is imminent.
Hopkins wrote on social media Thursday that he will retire when he’s not a 1,000-yard receiver.
“I’ll retire from football when I’m not a 1k-yard receiver,” Hopkins said on threads. “With that said, I was on pace for 1,400 yards last year—one significant injury in 11 years. I might be playing till I’m 37 the way I feel.”
Hopkins, 31, has not had a 1,000-yard season since 2020, having played only 19 games the past two seasons, while missing 15 to a suspension and injuries. He made 106 receptions for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns the past two seasons combined.
DeAndre Hopkins doesn’t have a new home yet.
The receiver remains a free agent and continues to wait for the right offer after visits to the Titans and Patriots.
Hopkins, 31, has not had a 1,000-yard season since 2020, having played only 19 games the past two seasons, while missing 15 to a suspension and injuries. He made 106 receptions for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns the past two seasons combined.
Hopkins, though, said Thursday on social media that he will retire when he’s not a 1,000-yard receiver.
“I’ll retire from football when I’m not a 1k-yard receiver,” Hopkins said on threads. “With that said, I was on pace for 1,400 yards last year—one significant injury in 11 years. I might be playing till I’m 37 the way I feel.”
From 2017-19, in his final three seasons in Houston, Hopkins was one of the top receivers in the game, earning All-Pro all three seasons. In his first season in Arizona, Hopkins made 115 receptions for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns, which was his last 1,000-yard season and his last Pro Bowl season.
Hopkins, though, is convinced he can return to where he once was.
Vince Tobin, who coached the Arizona Cardinals from 1996 into the 2000 season, has died. He was 79.
Tobin led the Cardinals to a playoff appearance in 1998, capped by the franchise’s first postseason victory since the Truman administration.
“As head coach of the Cardinals, his steady leadership was a constant and a big part of the success the team enjoyed during his tenure,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “His football legacy with us is highlighted by the thrilling 1998 season, return to the postseason, and upset playoff win at Dallas. He will also be remembered for his instrumental role in key decisions like drafting Jake Plummer and Pat Tillman.”
The Cardinals fired Tobin after a 2-5 start in 2000. He had a record of 28-43.
Tobin, who went to college at the University of Missouri, started his coaching career there in 1965. He worked as defensive coordinator from 1971 to 1976. He then coordinated the defense of the BC Lions of the CFL from 1977 through 1982.
Next came a stint in the USFL, as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia (and then Baltimore) Stars, from 1983 through 1985.
His NFL career started in 1986, as the defensive coordinator — and successor to Buddy Ryan — in Chicago. He held that job for seven years, was out of football in 1993, and then became the Colts’ defensive coordinator in 1994. He got the job in Arizona after the Colts nearly made it to the Super Bowl to cap the 1995 season.
After leaving Arizona, Tobin served as Lions defensive coordinator in 2001, and as Packers defensive coordinator in 2004.
Tobin actually followed Ryan twice. Tobin took over the dominant Bears’ defense in 1986 after Ryan became coach of the Eagles, and Tobin replaced Ryan as head coach of the Cardinals.
We extend our condolences to Tobin’s family, friends, players, and colleagues.
As soon as July 20, the sale of the Commanders from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris will become official. Team president Jason Wright will not be promptly asked to leave along with his soon-to-be-former boss.
According to the Washington Post, Wright “will be retained and given a chance to earn a continued role” with the team.
The report cites “two people with knowledge” of Harris’s strategy, adding that one of them said Wright will “absolutely have the opportunity to perform in his role,” and that no one should “expect or allude to any changes with his role at this time.”
The report also adds that there was no specification as to the length of the commitment.
Common sense suggests that Harris will hold everything in place for the balance of the season. That’s when he will presumably exercise the billionaire’s privilege of hiring whoever he wants to hire for the key positions. As we’ve said in the past when other teams were purchased, a new owner isn’t buying a team because the new owner wanted to acquire the employment rights of its key personnel. The new owner will have his or her own vision for the franchise, and that vision will be implemented unless the employees he inherited do enough to get him to change his or her mind.
If Harris intends to hire his own president, G.M., and/or head coach, it makes no sense for him to reveal that plan until he’s ready to implement it. And if, as it appears, he’ll be keeping everyone in place for 2023, he needs them to think they have a real chance to stay beyond the season in order to avoid having their uncertain futures distract them from the task at hand of effectively turning of the page from quarter-century of crap to a new dawn in D.C.
Could Wright do enough to stay? Sure. So could G.M. Martin Mayhew and coach Ron Rivera. And Harris needs them to believe that, especially with training camp opening only days after he gets the pink slip to the franchise.
As the Post notes, Harris took his time to assess the management group he inherited when buying the 76ers and the Devils. It makes sense to do that. He needs to get to know the team. He needs to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Ultimately, he needs to decide whether changes will make the team better, or whether continuity is in the organization’s best interests.
In some ways, every NFL team operates that way, with a constant assessment of whether things are working as they are. It definitely becomes a more significant concern when ownership of the team is transferred from the group that hired the top employees to a group that did not.
Safety Budda Baker reported to Cardinals minicamp earlier this month and he plans to be at training camp next month, but that doesn’t mean he’s satisfied with where things stand with the team.
Baker requested a trade earlier in the offseason and he has no guaranteed money left in the final two years of his deal with the team. His agent David Mulugheta told Mike Garafolo of NFL Media that his client would like his contract addressed in a way that shows Baker is a “long-term part of their future plans.”
When Baker signed his current deal, he was the highest-paid safety in the league. Mulugheta said that Baker is not looking to reclaim that spot in any new deal with the Cardinals.
Cardinals General Manager Monti Ossenfort said this month that the team will “continue to keep our discussions and line of communication open” with Baker. We’ll see if that results in any new agreement before the team gets to training camp in a few weeks.