Larry Fitzgerald speaks out on DeAndre Hopkins' PED suspension

DeAndre Hopkins has been among the best wide receivers in the NFL since being drafted by the Houston Texans 27th overall in the 2013 Draft. Most would agree that he has the best hands in football, despite being burdened with a somewhat mediocre quarterback play in Houston prior to Deshaun Watson coming along.

With the Arizona Cardinals, DeAndre Hopkins continued to perform at an elite level with Kyler Murray as his quarterback. He even made the catch that sealed a win against the Buffalo Bills in 2020 in a play that is now known as the Hail Murray.

Now, the heralded wide receiver has been suspended for six games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In a recent TMZ Sports interview, Cardinals great Larry Fitzgerald spoke up about Hopkins’ suspension.

"He'll still be a Hall of Famer. He'll work through it. It's just some adversity and, you know, he's a tough guy, resourceful, and he'll work his way through it."

Fitzgerald was a teammate of Hopkins in 2020, finishing the season with a career-low 54 receptions and 409 yards. Afterwards, Fitzgerald announced he had no immediate plans to return to football, even though he never officially announced his retirement.

Meanwhile, DeAndre Hopkins released a statement to fans via Twitter. In it, he explained his situation and promised to find out how the prohibited substance got into his system.

“In my 10-year NFL career, I have never tested positive for using performance enhancing drugs. To learn that my November test came back with trace elements of a banned substance, I was confused and shocked. I am very mindful of what I put in my body and have always taken a holistic approach, so I am working with my team to investigate how this could’ve happened. But even as careful as I have been, clearly I wasn’t careful enough. For that, I apologize to Cardinals fans, my teammates, and the entire Cardinals organization. I never want to let my team down. I fully intend to get to the bottom of this. As soon as I have more information, I will share it.”

With DeAndre Hopkins suspended, Cardinals will rely on newly-acquired Hollywood Brown

Marquise Brown in action

The Cardinals will lean on newly-acquired wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown while they wait for the return of DeAndre Hopkins.

In the meantime, Kyler Murray comes back to the team after some doubts during the offseason. The Cardinals will get set to try and wrestle control of the NFC West from the Super Bowl champions Los Angeles Rams.