The Cardinals made three trades Thursday night, but GM Monti Ossenfort said he doesn’t expect star receiver DeAndre Hopkins to be moved at any point during this week’s draft.
— The Arizona Cardinals made three trades Thursday night, two of which reshaped the top of the NFL draft, but none of them involved moving star receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
It’s likely Hopkins won’t be going anywhere, actually.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said after the Cardinals were done with their first round that he doesn’t expect to trade Hopkins at any point during this week’s draft.
“I don’t foresee that happening,” Ossenfort said Thursday night after the Cardinals drafted offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 6 after starting the day with the third overall pick. “I don’t know what is going to happen here in the next couple days. Right now, I don’t foresee that happening, no.”
Ossenfort later doubled down on Hopkins, who has been the center of trade speculation for months because of his $30.75 million cap hit in 2023.
“DeAndre’s a Cardinal,” Ossenfort said, “and we’re moving forward.”
While Hopkins wasn’t traded, Ossenfort was, however, dealing draft picks throughout the first round. The Cardinals’ frenzied start to the draft actually kicked off before a pick was made.
Minutes before the first round began, the Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles settled tampering charges against Ossenfort by swapping third-round picks in addition to the Cardinals getting an Eagles fifth-round pick next season.
Arizona then intently watched as the Houston Texans went on the clock at No. 2, knowing whom they picked would affect both the Cardinals’ selection if they stayed at No. 3 and which teams would try to trade for the pick. When the Texans took quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2, Ossenfort said that impacted the teams which were interested in trading up to the third pick.
