Arizona Cardinals extensive receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) walks within the bench space throughout a sport towards the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Sep. 12, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Brett Carlsen, Related Press
DeAndre Hopkins will make his season debut Thursday when the Arizona Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints. He’s returning after finishing a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s efficiency enhancing drug coverage.
The beginning of this season wasn’t the group’s first stint with out Hopkins. Final season, Hopkins missed seven common season video games and the Cardinals’ wild card sport towards the Los Angeles Rams with hamstring and MCL accidents, in line with ESPN. The group went 3-5 in his absence final 12 months and have began this season 2-4 with out him.
“His degree of competitiveness, the best way he practices, the best way he talks, it’s going to be good for us,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury mentioned after Sunday’s loss after Hopkins coming again, in line with Arizona Sports activities. “It’s going to uplift us and it’s a tall process for him on a brief week going into Thursday evening, however I’m certain he’ll be fired as much as play.”
Why was Hopkins suspended?
In Could, Hopkins was suspended after a November drug take a look at got here again with traces of a banned substance, ESPN reported. He mentioned the take a look at detected 0.134% ostarine and the NFL’s threshold for the substance is 0.1%, in line with AZCentral.
“To study that my November take a look at got here again with hint parts of a banned substance, I used to be confused and shocked,” he mentioned in a press release on Twitter. “I'm very conscious of what I put in my physique and have at all times taken a holistic method, so I'm working with my group to research how this might’ve occurred.”
See you Week 7. pic.twitter.com/rHTofEx7jK
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) Could 3, 2022
The extensive receiver denies taking the substance and has no concept the way it ended up in his system. He believes the suspension coverage ought to change for small quantities of a banned substance or that thresholds must be raised.
“I by no means took something. I by no means took a complement. I’ve by no means taken something,” he informed AZCentral. “If about what it's, it may be in shampoo. It may be in plenty of various things. The NFL may be very black and white. In fact, I want the rule wasn’t so black and white, however it's what it's. It’s exhausting to know when one thing will get contaminated at a hint quantity if you’re not working on the manufacturing firm.”
To place Hopkins’ suspension in perspective, Deshaun Watson initially acquired the identical size of suspension for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct coverage after 24 ladies alleged he dedicated sexual misconduct towards them. The NFL later appealed the suspension, which led to it changing into an 11 sport suspension, NFL.com reported.
Hopkins tried interesting his suspension however misplaced. His teammates appear to have no exhausting emotions about his absence and have supported him, akin to by sporting “Free D-Hop” shirts.
…#ArizonaCardinals#AZvsCIN@JamesConner_@darrelwilliams_@byronmurphypic.twitter.com/LNuduABDGk
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) August 12, 2022
Can DeAndre Hopkins save the Cardinals’ season?
The extensive receiver returns to a struggling and depleted offense. The Cardinals are No. 16 in yards per sport and No. 22 in factors per sport, in line with ESPN. Additionally they misplaced extensive receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a foot damage on Sunday and traded for the Panthers’ Robbie Anderson this week.
Whereas Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is happy to have his “electrical” receiver again, he informed reporters throughout his Tuesday media availability that Hopkins’ return gained’t treatment their ailing offense.
“It’s not a miracle factor,” he mentioned. “We nonetheless bought issues we should be higher at, nonetheless bought issues we have to repair. Clearly, having him again positively helps, however we nonetheless gotta be higher in all of the areas that we’re not good in proper now.”
Murray isn’t anticipating a scarcity of chemistry together with his receiver or for Hopkins to be rusty in any respect.
“It looks like each time you see him out on the sector, it’s like there’s a purpose why he’s the very best,” he mentioned. “The group’s positively appreciative of getting him again.”
When reporters requested Hopkins to explain what it’s been like to observe the offense battle from afar with out having the ability to assist them, he gave them a one-word reply: irritating.
“Just one phrase to explain it,” he mentioned through the press convention.
Regardless of the offense failing to stay as much as the caliber displayed to start with of final season, Hopkins thinks the group can nonetheless return to that degree this season.
“Clearly, one individual can’t go on the market and win a sport, however it does assist having somebody like myself on the market who can dictate rather a lot, dictate how defenses play us,” he mentioned.