Cowboys: Here's what Mike McCarthy said about DeAndre Hopkins' availability
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy probably knew long before he took the podium that he would be asked about one of the top available free agents in the NFL: Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Earlier this week, the Arizona Cardinals officially released the five-time All-Pro veteran following failed attempts to trade him. Now that D-Hop […]
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy probably knew long before he took the podium that he would be asked about one of the top available free agents in the NFL: Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Earlier this week, the Arizona Cardinals officially released the five-time All-Pro veteran following failed attempts to trade him. Now that D-Hop isn't tied to a $19.45 million salary, many teams (particularly, contenders) are likely to look at him through another lens.
When asked if the Cowboys had any sort of interest in Hopkins, McCarthy didn't want to go there.
"As far as players that aren't here, there's nothing good that comes out of those answers," the Cowboys head coach told reporters on Thursday. "Definitely Hop is a hell of a talent, I had a chance to be around his first Pro Bowl so I've always had respect for him since his rookie year."
Let's state the obvious: McCarthy was never going to give anything away in the press conference. Nothing should be made out of his comments, especially in a year in which the Cowboys have shown more confidentiality than ever.
It would be a surprise if the Cowboys target the veteran because, for the most part, it's not how they operate. However, we've seen them deviate from their usual gameplan this offseason as they even traded for a couple of veterans earlier in the year Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore.
While McCarthy didn't spend much time discussing Hopkins, his response started with some thoughts on the team's current wideouts.
"I've obviously been on offense full-time and I've really liked the look of our group," McCarthy said. "You know, the vertical speed is (definitely), we've made some improvement there. […] Obviously, we're not in any full-speed type activities outside of 7-on-7. So you can feel that from our guys."
