Steve Keim on DeAndre Hopkins: “The problem is his current contract”
Former Cardinals G.M. Steve Keim negotiated the current contract of Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Keim believes that contract is an impediment to a trade.
“They’re probably going to have to come to understand that they’re probably not going to get as much as they would if he was a younger player or his contract was considerably lower, where you could get him for a second-round [pick],” Keim said in an appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, via ArizonaSports.com. “It could end up being a second- or third-day draft pick to really get it done. Probably [need to] get a new deal done.”
Keim was more blunt about the need for a new deal.
“Here’s the problem,” Keim said. “The problem is his current contract. . . . Hop was his own agent, and I can tell you that wasn’t the easiest [negotiation] in the world. Between him and Larry Fitzgerald, that put all the grey on my beard.”
Keim added that Hopkins’s decision to hire an agent is a sign that Hopkins wants a new deal as part of moving to a new team.
Hopkins is due to make $19.45 million in 2023, and $14.9 million in 2024. And while he’s still one of the best receivers in the league, he turns 31 in June, and he was suspended for the first six games of 2022, due to a PED violation.
He appeared in nine games last year and 10 in 2021. His production has dropped significantly from 2020, when he caught 115 passes for 1,407 yards.
With so many great young receivers entering the league every year, it’s hard to justify paying significant money to an older player who may be approaching the downside of his career. It could be that interested teams wait to see what happens in the draft before making a move for Hopkins.
Steve Keim on DeAndre Hopkins: “The problem is his current contract” originally appeared on Pro Football Talk
