Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury not pleased with Hopkins’ decision.
Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury stated that they wanted wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins off the field but he insisted that he wanted to play.
Hopkins tested his hamstring with sprints on the sideline and checked himself back into the game a couple of times, Kingsbury said. And after the Cardinals’ 24-21 loss to the Packers but Kingsbury wasn’t happy with the decision.
“We wanted him to stay off the field but he’d just run on,” Kingsbury said. “He wants to play, super competitive and made some plays there, and we just want him to be smart, but he was definitely hurting.”
Hopkins grabbed his hamstring after hauling in a 61-yard pass for a touchdown with 8:18 left in the first quarter that was negated because of a facemask penalty on Hopkins. He didn’t return until the 8:15 mark of the third quarter, a span of 30 minutes.
Hopkins played just 13 total snaps but gave the Cardinals a boost when he was on the field. Arizona averaged 10.9 yards per play when Hopkins played compared to 4.6 yards per play when he didn’t.
“He wants to be out there,” Kingsbury said. “He’s competitive as anybody I’ve been around, and he ended up making some plays. But, we also have a lot of games left so we’re trying to be smart with him.”
