An All-Pro NFL wide receiver has just been suspended by the NFL. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals is being suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. This news comes as the Cardinals made a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire Marquise Brown during the NFL draft this past weekend. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Hopkins withdrew his appeal which means he will miss the first six games of the season.
Hopkins is coming off a 2021 season where he only had 42 receptions for 572 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games. He missed seven games due to multiple injuries, including a hamstring injury and torn ACL. Hopkins was traded to the Cardinals from the Houston Texans in March 2020 and had a monster 2020 season. Catching 115 passes for 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. When speaking to reporters after the trade was made, Hopkins said the move “wasn’t a big deal” and he had been “preparing for it.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Bill O’Brien, the Texans head coach at the time, explained why the team traded the superstar receiver. “I would say the deal with Arizona was a deal that we felt was in the best interest of our team,” he said, per Bleacher Report. “DeAndre Hopkins was a great football player here. He made so many plays for us. We love DeAndre Hopkins. But he had three years left on his deal and he wanted a raise. And we weren’t going to be able to go in that direction.”
Hopkins was selected No. 27 overall by the Texans in the 2013 NFL Draft. He made the All-Rookie Team after catching 52 passes for 802 yards and two touchdowns. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2015 after recording 111 receptions for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hopkins was named to the All-Pro Second Team in 2015 but was selected to the All-Pro First Team from 2017 to 2019 to become one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. Overall, Hopkins has been named to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro Team five times in five NFL seasons. And in 136 career games, Hopkins has caught 789 passes for 10,581 yards and 68 receptions.
