“I Got Set Up”: DeAndre Hopkins Accuses Former Cardinals GM of Deception That Allegedly Led to NFL Punishment
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“I Got Set Up”: DeAndre Hopkins Accuses Former Cardinals GM of Deception That Allegedly Led to NFL Punishment
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos Dec 18, 2022 Denver, Colorado, USA Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins 10 reacts in the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Denver Empower Field at Mile High Colorado USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xRonxChenoyx 20221218_szo_ac4_0204
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos Dec 18, 2022 Denver, Colorado, USA Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins 10 reacts in the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Denver Empower Field at Mile High Colorado USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xRonxChenoyx 20221218_szo_ac4_0204
Five-time Pro Bowler and former wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has brought up one of the most frustrating chapters of his NFL career, landing a sharp accusation on former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim.
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“I got set up when I played for his team and lost 13 million,” Hopkins commented on an Instagram post. “Skeme Slime [Steve Slime] was my GM, contaminated drug test, go figure how that happened.”
The NFL suspended Hopkins without pay for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy for the first six games of the 2022 season. The league did not accuse Keim or the Cardinals of involvement in the test, and there is no public evidence that Hopkins was intentionally set up.
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC Divisional Round-Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Jan 12, 2020 Kansas City, MO, USA Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs in a AFC Divisional Round playoff football game at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium Missouri USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxJ.xRebilasx 14276333
Hopkins had already disputed the circumstances surrounding the failed test at the time. After initially saying he was shocked by the result, he later explained that the substance involved was Ostarine and said only a trace amount had been detected.
“We’re still doing some research right now,” DeAndre Hopkins said in June 2022. “Hopefully, before the season starts, maybe we can get the games down a little bit. But no, it wasn’t on me. I’m a natural. I’m pretty much a naturopathic kind of person, man. And what it was, it was called Ostarine, and there was 0.1% of it found in my system. If you know what that is, it’s contamination, not something directly taken.”
The $13 million figure is Hopkins’ own stated loss, not a number the NFL independently established when the suspension was announced. His 2020 extension with the Cardinals included $42.75 million in guaranteed money, and his scheduled 2022 salary was $13.9 million before the contract was reworked.
Keim was the Cardinals’ general manager during DeAndre Hopkins’ entire Arizona stint, and worked with the team from 2013 to 2022. Hopkins signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2023, and suited up for the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in the following years.
None of that erases what Hopkins actually did on the field while he was there. His first season with the Cardinals in 2020 was genuinely special. 115 catches, 1,407 yards, six touchdowns. Despite being held back due to a suspension, Hopkins still managed 64 receptions, 717 yards, and three touchdowns across nine games.
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Edited by
Afreen Kabir