Hopkins Trade Strategy

[Harry]

Several sites are speculating DeAndre Hopkins might be cut. Should Ossenfort choose this action he would immediately lose credibility, not only in my eyes, but also in terms of how he’s viewed by other GMs. Ossenfort must stand his ground even to the extent of keeping Hopkins on the roster and calling their bluff. Any threat by Hopkins to sit out is just noise. Patience will likely be rewarded when an injury strikes some contender’s receiver corps before the trade deadline. Hopkins is the perfect add, since he doesn’t need great route design to be functional. He’s easy to integrate into any passing game. The pressure on contenders is huge. They’ll pay to stay in the hunt. It’s all about not panicking.

 

[football karma]

Any threat by Hopkins to sit out is just noise.

it also seems that the team could go to Hop and say "we really tried" -- giving his representation permission to try to arrange one would give them insight into the demand side of the equation as well

come training camp -- it might be both sides decide "we are stuck with each other" and make the best of it

 

[Fitz4Ever]

There is no way he is gonna be cut. That is silly.

We may end up with an underwhelming trade, but at the very least he will be part of a move up deal or something.

Maybe we really like a player in mid 2nd round range.....you send hopkins and a 4th and boom.

 

[kerouac9]

The problem with waiting is how many competing teams will have the cap space in October to take on an initial $17million contract?

 

[Stout]

Yep. The only problem here is do we want a ginormous headache in the locker room that could result from him staying and not getting a new deal? It would be a tough start to the new staff.

 

[Proximo]

The problem with waiting is how many competing teams will have the cap space in October to take on an initial $17million contract?

Honestly I don't care. I would rather him not play all season than let him go for nothing. Harry is right GM's will just continue to bully Ossenfort if he gives in.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Yep. The only problem here is do we want a ginormous headache in the locker room that could result from him staying and not getting a new deal? It would be a tough start to the new staff.

My friend spent a ton of time working with DHop over the last few seasons. He says that while DHop is a Diva when it comes to practicing, he is a great locker room guy. He is fun to be around, easy going and liked by his teammates.

Based off what I've heard about him I don't believe that he would be a big headache in the locker room. I think that the fact that the Cardinal allowed him to seek a trade puts the ball in his court.

 

[kerouac9]

Yep. The only problem here is do we want a ginormous headache in the locker room that could result from him staying and not getting a new deal? It would be a tough start to the new staff.

I dunno. His salary is guaranteed on the first day of the season as long as he’s on the active roster.

Now, do you want him hanging around training camp nursing a series of soft-tissue injures? Not if you’re instilling a culture of… not winning, but something?

Honestly I don't care. I would rather him not play all season than let him go for nothing. Harry is right GM's will just continue to bully Ossenfort if he gives in.

Third-choice GM absolutely killing his 30-60-90 plan.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Now, do you want him hanging around training camp nursing a series of soft-tissue injures? Not if you’re instilling a culture of… not winning, but something?

That's why I believed that he would be traded this offseason. Everyone knows that DHop doesn't like practice and it looks bad when one player gets special treatment. Hard to change the culture like that.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Now, do you want him hanging around training camp nursing a series of soft-tissue injures?

This is the question I am concerned about

Not if you’re instilling a culture of… not winning, but something?

Still hard to see a definite plan so far

 

[gmabel830]

The problem with waiting is how many competing teams will have the cap space in October to take on an initial $17million contract?

The Cards could restructure before a trade though, right? That would essentially be eating some of his salary via paying him bonus money to leave, which should factor into compensation we'd get back, but might be good enough to good him off our books so he can negotiate a long-term deal elsewhere.

 

[az jam]

Not a good draft for WRs. Hopkins value should go up. Monti must just wait it out. Dumb to cut him.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Several sites are speculating DeAndre Hopkins might be cut. Should Ossenfort choose this action he would immediately lose credibility, not only in my eyes, but also in terms of how he’s viewed by other GMs. Ossenfort must stand his ground even to the extent of keeping Hopkins on the roster and calling their bluff. Any threat by Hopkins to sit out is just noise. Patience will likely be rewarded when an injury strikes some contender’s receiver corps before the trade deadline. Hopkins is the perfect add, since he doesn’t need great route design to be functional. He’s easy to integrate into any passing game. The pressure on contenders is huge. They’ll pay to stay in the hunt. It’s all about not panicking.

This

 

[Big_Red_One]

No reason to cut a valuable asset, this is just noise from the Pats and other teams trying to drive the price down. Some team will need a WR.....

 

[ajcardfan]

The Cards could restructure before a trade though, right? That would essentially be eating some of his salary via paying him bonus money to leave, which should factor into compensation we'd get back, but might be good enough to good him off our books so he can negotiate a long-term deal elsewhere.

Yes. If they really want to trade him, they will have to restructure.

 

[Chopper0080]

I dunno. His salary is guaranteed on the first day of the season as long as he’s on the active roster.

Now, do you want him hanging around training camp nursing a series of soft-tissue injures? Not if you’re instilling a culture of… not winning, but something?

Third-choice GM absolutely killing his 30-60-90 plan.

Some really odd choices for sure. I can't tell if Monti missed the window to trade Hopkins or not yet. Time will tell on that one. The draft will give more info as well. The concept of "building a culture" by losing is just strange to me.

 

[Zalixar]

Several sites are speculating DeAndre Hopkins might be cut. Should Ossenfort choose this action he would immediately lose credibility, not only in my eyes, but also in terms of how he’s viewed by other GMs. Ossenfort must stand his ground even to the extent of keeping Hopkins on the roster and calling their bluff. Any threat by Hopkins to sit out is just noise. Patience will likely be rewarded when an injury strikes some contender’s receiver corps before the trade deadline. Hopkins is the perfect add, since he doesn’t need great route design to be functional. He’s easy to integrate into any passing game. The pressure on contenders is huge. They’ll pay to stay in the hunt. It’s all about not panicking.

I've heard the rhetoric of possibly waiting until some other WR gets hurt and we can totally trade him before the deadline, but it would be our luck that he would get hurt before the deadline and make him untradeable.

Don't want to leave anything to chance, need to find a way to move him before, on, or shortly after draft day(s).

 

[kerouac9]

The Cards could restructure before a trade though, right? That would essentially be eating some of his salary via paying him bonus money to leave, which should factor into compensation we'd get back, but might be good enough to good him off our books so he can negotiate a long-term deal elsewhere.

He already has a $30 million cap number. I’m sure there are some shenanigans if the Cards want even more dead money to ship off an all-pro.

 

[Chopper0080]

What is not talked about is how the Cardinals gave away some of their leverage by failing to add talent to their roster in free agency. It is tough to tell other teams you are willing to keep Hopkins when you purposefully create the worst roster in the league.

 

[cardsfanmd]

My friend spent a ton of time working with DHop over the last few seasons. He says that while DHop is a Diva when it comes to practicing, he is a great locker room guy. He is fun to be around, easy going and liked by his teammates.

I’m not sure how that can be considered a positive. He is friendly and fun to hang out with but doesn’t want to practice. Super. You want your young players seeing vets put in the work just like they’ll be expected to do. This is part of the culture change that Monti and JG have talked about since climbing aboard.

 

[Totally_Red]

I agree that cutting DHop would be a very foolish move. Don't do it Monti!

 

[Goldfield]

And we gave a first round pick for Brown?

 

[Dayman]

The problem with waiting is how many competing teams will have the cap space in October to take on an initial $17million contract?

I am guessing that we would need to eat some of that contract.

I mean, maybe a team gets desperate and meets Monti's widely rumored asking price of a second rounder + more, but it's tough to think of that as an actual strategy at this point. Moreso it looks like Monti misread the market, and now he is waiting for someone to bail him out so he can save face. I hope it happens.

 

[QuebecCard]

That's why I believed that he would be traded this offseason. Everyone knows that DHop doesn't like practice and it looks bad when one player gets special treatment. Hard to change the culture like that.

Players don't like practice. They do it because it's required. Games are fun, practice not.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I am guessing that we would need to eat some of that contract.

I mean, maybe a team gets desperate and meets Monti's widely rumored asking price of a second rounder + more, but it's tough to think of that as an actual strategy at this point. Moreso it looks like Monti misread the market, and now he is waiting for someone to bail him out so he can save face. I hope it happens.

You may be right. The problem is that the Cards hold little leverage here. Teams know that if the Cards stand pat, they will be at a 30M cap number and nearly 2/3rds of that in dead cap if traded.

So while a 2nd is good value for a player like D-Hop, they likely won't get it unless they wait until draft day and a team gets desperate. (like the Cards were last year with Hollywood)