DeAndre Hopkins skips Cardinals early workouts under new coach

If you’re keeping watch on what’s happening with DeAndre Hopkins, he’s not attending voluntary workouts with the Cardinals at this point.

The single biggest domino waiting to fall this offseason is the question(s) surrounding DeAndre Hopkins’ future with the Arizona Cardinals (and how other teams might play into it). While all parties involved don’t appear to be in any hurry to provide a resolution to the tension, there is at least some drama beginning to play out that might speed things up in the desert.

The Kansas City Chiefs and other interested parties are likely hoping that’s the case.

The Cardinals hired a new head coach in former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon this offseason after firing Kliff Kingsbury. While a new coach has a lot to absorb in his first season in the NFL, it’s not going to help that learning curve at all if he’s having to field questions from the media about extra layers of drama—and the Cards are providing plenty of that these days.

Not only has the team’s owner Michael Bidwill been sued by a former exec for harassment and discrimination, but Hopkins himself is refusing to participate in the team’s offseason activities on-site. Hopkins says he is working out on his own, away from Arizona, which is not all that uncommon for a veteran player, but the absence only magnifies the uncertainty surrounding his future in this instance.

All this to say, Gannon has a lot going on when there’s already a lot going on.

Gannon was asked about Hopkins and said he wanted to make sure the team does right by both player and organization, which is coach-speak utilized to walk the line. Fans cannot blame Gannon here, since he’s saying and doing the right things when it comes to Hopkins. This situation was going to happen no matter who was in charge, and now it’s about bringing him in or trading him away (arrowheadaddict.com hopkins release, which was rumored not too long ago).

As for the Chiefs, they’ve remained interested in a few wide receivers this spring only to walk away with none of them. They have signed Richie James, formerly of the New York Giants, to bolster a wideout corps that might work out just fine. However, the unit looks thin and the Chiefs have shown interested in Adam Thielen, Odell Beckham Jr. and others for a reason. That’s why K.C. has been linked to Hopkins for quite some time.

Of course, they’re not alone in this chase which is why there’s some tension around what might happen. The New York Jets just tried to win the Beckham sweepstakes and lost to the Baltimore Ravens, so they might be hungry for a proven veteran. The Buffalo Bills were also reportedly interested.

While the wait might be frustrating, Chiefs fans can only hope that Hopkins’ refusal to show up bristles things a bit for Cardinals executives. Hopefully they feel lke getting something done sooner than later is actually the best thing for all parties involved. Will it mean a trade to Kansas City? We might find out soon.