“Julio u remember what we talked about”

DeAndre Hopkins is still recruiting for the Arizona Cardinals.

Following a successful attempt to lure former Houston teammate JJ Watt to the desert, Hopkins is at it again this time with Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones.

First it was a tweet regarding a potential restructuring of his contract in order to obtain Jones from the Falcons. Since then, however, Hopkins has subsequently deleted said tweet.

Then came this morning when Hopkins took to his Instagram account and posted the following photo:

Hopkins recently updated the caption with the following:

“Julio u remember what we talked about”

While nothing can be discredited in the ultra competitive NFC West, this scenario is still hard to fathom. The Cardinals signed AJ Green this past March to be the outside receiver opposite Hopkins. They sunk yet another second round pick on a receiver during April’s Draft in Purdue’s Rondale Moore. Christian Kirk and Andy Isabella are both recent second round selections and lets not forget the package it took to secure Hopkins last offseason.

The bottom line is that, while Julio Jones would obviously represent a major upgrade for Arizona, the team has already made numerous attempts to bolster their receiving core.

At the writing of this article, the Cardinals still have glaring holes at both CB and TE. Their current cap situation, which is roughly $14 million, gives them flexibility to address both needs prior to the start of training camp.

Any acquisition of Jones would likely see the majority of said cap space disappear, not to mention the cost it would take to acquire him (likely a 2nd round pick in 2022).

Adam Schefter has reported that the Falcons are pushing for a first round pick in exchange for Jones, and would prefer to trade him out of the NFC.

On the flip side, everyone seemingly understands that the Cardinals are in a “win now or else” mode for this coming season. While their roster absolutely looks the part, they are still the overwhelming favorite to finish fourth in their own division.

Does a Julio Jones acquisition change that? Absolutely and perhaps that’s all it takes for Steve Keim and MIchael Bidwill to pull the trigger on such a move.

So while I would peg the likelihood of a Jones trade at relatively low, never say never in the NFC West.