Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins Makes Pitch To Former Teammate J.J. Watt

DeAndre Hopkins is hoping to reunite with his former Texans teammate this offseason.

No, we’re not talking about Deshaun Watson.

J.J. Watt is free to officially sign with any team after he was released by the Texans last week following 10 seasons with Houston, seven of which he played alongside Hopkins.

The star wide receiver did a little recruiting Tuesday, sharing a photoshopped Instagram in which he and Watt are hugging while wearing Arizona Cardinals uniforms. The post is accompanied by a caption that reads, “Let’s finish what we started…”

The Instagram elicited responses from a handful of NFL players, including current Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who replied, “😂😂😂😂😂 come play with your brothers lol.” Both T.J. Watt and Derek Watt play in Pittsburgh.

The market for Watt probably has yet to even take shape, but the Cardinals to date have not been reported as a potential landing spot for Watt. Peter King on Monday identified the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers as the teams “most interested” in the three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Among those teams, Watt reportedly is “strongly considering” the Browns.

There is some appeal to Arizona. The Cardinals have the resources to feature a very potent offense, led by dual-threat dynamo Kyler Murray. But they also play in the highly competitive NFC West, a division that seemingly has become even tougher to win via Matthew Stafford joining the Los Angeles Rams.

At this stage in his career, the 31-year-old Watt probably is looking to join a team that’s poised to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender for the next few seasons. The Cards appear to be on the rise, but they might not be far enough down to the road to land Watt.