DeAndre Hopkins is disappointed by how his – and his team’s – season went in 2021.
The former Clemson star and current Arizona Cardinals wideout suffered a season-ending MCL injury in Week 14 in December. But even more than the injury itself, Hopkins was pained by the fact he was forced to sit out and be a spectator as he watched the Cardinals lose three of their final four regular season games and then fall to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams, 34-11, in the first round of the playoffs.
“Obviously, it sucked that the guys went out without me,” Hopkins said recently in an interview with 12 News in Phoenix. “I was more so hurt that I couldn’t go out there and help them.”
Overall, Hopkins – who had missed a total of just two games in the first eight years of his NFL career prior to last season – was sidelined for seven regular season games and the postseason game due to a hamstring and then the knee injury.
After making the Pro Bowl each year from 2017-20 – and earning first-team All-Pro honors every year from 2017-19 – Hopkins finished the 2021 season with 42 catches for 572 yards and a team-high eight receiving touchdowns.
The reception and yardage totals marked career lows for Hopkins, who had amassed no fewer than 96 catches or 1,165 receiving yards in any season over the previous four years.
“It was very unusual. It was unusual,” Hopkins said of the 2021 campaign. “It was a great experience, though.”
Why is that?
Well, Hopkins – who will turn 30 in June – said this past season made him wake up and learn that he must pay more attention to himself physically as he prepares for his 10th NFL season, one in which the determined Hopkins hopes will feature the best version of himself to date.
“It was a wake-up call for me to realize that (I have to) take care of the body, do certain things as I’m getting older,” he said of this past season. “I’m going into year 10. So, for me, it was just something that’s going to motivate me to be better next year. Hopefully I’m better than I ever was, man, going into year 10.”
According to the former Clemson All-American, his rehab after MCL surgery is ahead of schedule.
“I’m doing good, man,” Hopkins said. “Obviously walking around pretty normal, so that’s a good start.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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