DeAndre Hopkins leaves irreplaceable gap in Arizona after suspension

DeAndre Hopkins is a superstar for a reason. But, unfortunately, his recent suspension has created a super hole in the Arizona Cardinals depth chart.

Wow, wow, wow. Just when a rollercoaster offseason was set to flatten out and improve in a positive way, a sucker punch has devastated the Arizona Cardinals. With DeAndre Hopkins now being suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s PED policy, the 2022 season just got that much tougher for the Cardinals.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Arizona. The Seattle Seahawks finally got rid of Russell Wilson and the San Francisco 49ers are still dealing with the Deebo Samuel and Jimmy Garoppolo drama (or lack thereof).

Arizona’s Marquise Brown and A.J. Green are good wide receivers. However, they don’t possess the insane athleticism that Hopkins has. The three-time All-Pro is one of the best at going up and high-pointing the ball, making him very tough to defend.

Suspension of DeAndre Hopkins brings up scars of the past for the Arizona Cardinals

Remember when former Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was suspended for six in 2019 for violating the NFL’s PED policy? It feels like Arizona is going through it all over again, but with Hopkins instead.

Both were coming off iffy seasons, and whether it was solely their fault for a lack of production is a debate for another article.

With Hopkins‘ suspension, the Cardinals trading for Brown doesn’t look like a good move. He has even more pressure to perform as Hopkins’ likely replacement. Green will still have to make a game-winning catch for most fans to forgive him for the Green Bay game.

Finally, what does this suspension mean for Rondale Moore? There were concerns that he wouldn’t see the field with Brown being acquired, but that’s all different now.

Hopkins claims he didn’t mean to take the substance that resulted in a positive PED test. But it’s also like the Cardinals are forgetting history.

Because it sure is repeating itself.