Arizona Cardinals three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins has been suspended without pay for six games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
The league announced the suspension on 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. Now they’ll be without the 29-year-old 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 Los Angeles Rams – because of hamstring and knee injuries.
The Cardinals added 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 also 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 games.
BROWNS: The NFL handed former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson another loss.
The league announced that it found “no evidence” the Browns purposely lost games or incentivized personnel to do so after Jackson alleged in February the team tried to lose during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
The league said that a 60-day independent review determined “none of the allegations could be substantiated.”
Former U.S. Attorney and SEC Chair Mary Jo White led the investigative team.
• 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.
York, who made 15 of 19 field-goal tries beyond 50 yards at LSU, was the highest kicker drafted since 2016.
49ERS: The San Francisco 49ers are bringing back oft-injured cornerback Jason Verrett on a one-year deal.
The Niners announced they are re-signing Verrett after he played only one game last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
FALCONS: After a disappointing season with his hometown team, running back Mike Davis was being released by the Atlanta Falcons, a person familiar with the move said.
The move was not surprising for a team dealing with salary cap woes, especially after the 29-year-old Davis rushed for just 503 yards and three touchdowns last season. He averaged 3.6 yards per carry.
The Falcons signaled they were moving in a different direction during last week’s draft, picking BYU running back Tyler Allgeier in the fifth round.
The team also re-signed Cordarrelle Patterson, who became one of the team’s biggest offensive options lining up at both running back and receiver.
CHIEFS: The Chiefs placed an unrestricted free-agent tender on defensive end Melvin Ingram and traded for Houston cornerback Lonnie Johnson, hoping to add two more pieces to a defense that was revamped during the NFL draft.
The seldom-used UFA tender means the Chiefs essentially offered Ingram a $4.4 million contract for next season, which represents 110% of his pay from last season, while still giving the veteran pass rusher the chance to negotiate with other teams.
If Ingram signs elsewhere before July 22, though, the Chiefs could earn a compensatory pick in next year’s draft.
RAIDERS: Cornerback Nate Hobbs resolved a misdemeanor speeding case, with his attorney entering a no-contest plea on his behalf and paying a $250 fine.
Hobbs, 22, did not appear in court with his attorney, Richard Schonfeld, for the brief hearing stemming from Hobbs’ arrest Jan. 16 on a Las Vegas-area freeway.
A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper had ticketed Hobbs for reckless driving, reporting that he clocked Hobbs’ vehicle at 110 mph in a 65 mph zone.
The case was the second in a month involving Hobbs, one of several current and former Raiders players to face charges in driving cases.
Hobbs had been arrested before dawn Jan. 3 when he was found asleep inside a vehicle at a Las Vegas Strip casino parking garage. Prosecutors in that case said Hobbs’ blood-alcohol level was just under the DUI legal limit in Nevada of 0.08%.
Hobbs pleaded guilty to misdemeanor careless driving, paid a $685 fine and was ordered to perform 20 hours of community service.
In November, former Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III was involved in a high-speed crash that killed a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman while Ruggs was allegedly driving drunk. Authorities said Ruggs and his girlfriend were injured. The Raiders released Ruggs hours after the wreck.
A preliminary hearing of evidence in that case is scheduled June 16.
CHARGERS: The Los Angeles Chargers have 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 4 1/2 sacks along with 14 quarterback hits. He also had 51 tackles.
BENGALS: The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed their longest-tenured player, punter Kevin Huber, to a one-year contract for the 2022 season.
STEELERS: The Pittsburgh Steelers have declined the fifth-year option on inside linebacker Devin Bush, meaning he can become a free agent next spring.
Pittsburgh traded up in the first round of the 2019 draft to take Bush with the 10th overall pick. Bush played well as a rookie, getting 109 tackles with two interceptions and a sack while finishing third in the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Bush’s career, however, hit a setback when he tore the ACL in his left knee against Cleveland in October 2020.
VIKINGS: The Minnesota Vikings declined the fifth-year option on the contract for center Garrett Bradbury, sending their 2019 first-round draft pick into the final season of his rookie deal.
PANTHERS: The Carolina Panthers solidified their return game, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with Andre Roberts.
Roberts, a 2018 All-Pro selection, led the NFL in kickoff return yards (1,010) last year while spending time with Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers.
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