Gannon, Cardinals ready to greet WR Hopkins 'when he's ready'

TEMPE, Ariz. — One notable player was missing from the first day of the Arizona Cardinals' voluntary workouts Tuesday under new coach Jonathan Gannon.

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was working out 1,165 miles away at a gym in Houston while his current teammates gathered in the weight room at the Cardinals' facility in Tempe, Arizona. When asked whether he expects Hopkins to join the Cardinals at any point during the voluntary portion of the offseason workouts, Gannon said, «We'll see.»

«I've been in communication with D-Hop and I want to do what's best for him and us at the same time,» Gannon said. «So, when he's ready to come, he'll come, and improve his game, too.»

Hopkins went live on Instagram during his workout while the Cardinals were simultaneously working out as a team.

Hopkins is a member of the Cardinals for now, but his future status with the team is up in the air. He's scheduled to have a $30.75 million cap hit in 2023, which will be the highest on the team and has made him the center of trade speculation for weeks. The Cardinals reportedly granted him permission to seek a trade on his own. A trade would save the Cardinals $8.15 million in cap space but would leave Arizona with $22.6 million in dead money. However, either releasing Hopkins after June 1 or releasing him before that and designating him as a post-June 1 release would save the Cardinals $19.45 million in cap space.

Hopkins was just one of the distractions hovering around the Cardinals as they started their first day of work under Gannon.

Last week, former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough accused owner Michael Bidwill of gross misconduct, including cheating, discrimination and harassment. The team called McDonough's allegations «wildly false,