PEDS SIDELINE CARDS’ HOPKINS
The Arizona Cardinals are going to have to figure out a way to score points and win games without their top receiver.
Three-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins has been suspended without pay for six games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, the league announced Monday.
It’s a stunning blow for the Cardinals, who finished with an 11-6 record last season but faded down the stretch when Hopkins was out of the lineup because of injuries. Arizona had an 8-2 record when Hopkins was in the lineup and just a 3-5 mark, including the playoffs, when he was not.
Now they’ll be without the 29-year-old — who turns 30 next month — for a big chunk of the upcoming season.
Hopkins played in 10 games last season, catching 42 passes for 572 yards and eight touchdowns.
He missed much of the last half of the season, including the team’s playoff loss to the Rams, because of hamstring and knee injuries.
The Cardinals softened the loss of Hopkins by adding a receiver during last week’s NFL draft, acquiring Marquise Brown from the Ravens for the No. 23 overall pick. Brown was a 1,000-yard receiver last season and college teammates with Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray when the two were at Oklahoma.
Hopkins’ suspension likely means a bigger role for Brown, veteran A.J. Green and second-year standout Rondale Moore, along with tight end Zach Ertz, during the season’s first six weeks.
Hopkins has been one of the league’s most productive
receivers during his nine-year career, which includes six 1,000-yard seasons. He played his first seven seasons with the Texans before being traded in 2020 to the Cardinals.
Hopkins is allowed to participate in the team’s preseason practices and games.
Bolts decline
The Chargers declined to pick up the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Jerry Tillery.
Tillery, the 28th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has started 29 games over the first three years of his career. He started 15 of 16 games last season and had a career-high 41⁄2 sacks along with 14 quarterback hits. He also had 51 tackles.
Tillery though has been penalized 13 times over the past two seasons, which is tied for
Tillery option
third among NFL defensive linemen.
Notable
The Chiefs placed an unrestricted free-agent tender on defensive end Melvin Ingram in the hopes of keeping him for next season, and they traded for Houston cornerback Lonnie Johnson to add a former second-round pick to their remade secondary. Also, the Chiefs added an intriguing option among their undrafted free agents by signing Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross, who was once viewed as a potential first-round pick before a spinal disorder threatened his career.
An independent investigation launched by the NFL found no evidence the Browns purposely lost games during
the 2016 and 2017 seasons as former coach Hue Jackson claimed.
Cade York has already kicked out his competition with the Browns. Cleveland released kickers Chase McLaughlin and Chris Blewitt two days after selecting York, one of college football’s best kickers, in the fourth round of the NFL Draft to upgrade its wayward kicking game.
After a disappointing season with his hometown team, running back Mike Davis has been released by the Falcons. The move was not surprising after Davis rushed for just 503 yards and three touchdowns last season.
The 49ers are bringing back oft-injured cornerback
Jason Verrett on a one-year