Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is arguably the most vital piece of the Arizona Cardinals offense outside of Kyler Murray. But Murray and the team’s passing attack will be without the star receiver for a substantial portion of the 2022 season. How long will Hopkins be suspended for, and when will he be eligible to return to action?
How Long Is DeAndre Hopkins Suspended?
Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the 2022 NFL season due to a positive test for performance-enhancing substances.
Hopkins explained the positive result, saying, “I’m a natural. I’m pretty much a naturopathic kind of person, man. And what it was, it was called Ostarine, and there was 0.1% of it found in my system. If you know what that is, it’s contamination, not something directly taken.”
The Cardinals open the season against the Kansas City Chiefs before contests against the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks. Hopkins will then be eligible to return for the team’s Week 7 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Until then, Murray will lean on his former college teammate, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who general manager Steve Keim traded for during the first round of this year’s NFL draft.
And it’s a good thing he did too, as Hopkins’ suspension was announced just shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 NFL Draft. Last year with Baltimore, Brown surpassed 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
In addition to Brown, Murray and the Cardinals’ offense will look to lean on A.J. Green, Rondale Moore, and tight end Zach Ertz during Hopkins’ absence.
Hopkins, who’s entering his age-30 season, is coming off a down year in which he accumulated just 572 yards on 42 receptions and appeared in just 10 games due to injury. He’ll look to bounce back after the conclusion of his suspension come Oct. 20.
DeAndre Hopkins’ Current Fantasy Value
With an ADP of 86, Hopkins was coming off the boards as the WR37 in PPR formats, placing him in the seventh round in 12-team fantasy leagues.
In PFN’s 2022 fantasy football redraft rankings, Hopkins was very close to his ADP as the WR35 and 90th-ranked player.
Hopkins will likely not return to the 10+ target role he had from 2017-2020. If it is anywhere near the 4.2 catches for 57.2 yards per game of last year, managers banking on Hopkins to push them into the playoffs could be disappointed.
His range of outcomes is practically as wide as any receiver in the league. How much risk you want to take on in fantasy and at what point the reward outweighs it is up to the individual manager and how the draft shakes out.