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And for 2-4 Arizona, the help couldn't be more timely.
"He's gonna be anxious to get the ball in his hands and be super
competitive. We need him to lift us up, there's no question,
with how we're playing right now," Cardinals coach Kliff
Kingsbury said.
Hopkins also returns as the Cardinals lost top receiver Marquise
Brown (foot) to injury and already were playing without running
backs James Conner (ribs) and Darrel Williams (knee). Brown was
injured on the final play of the game in the loss to the
Seahawks and could miss the rest of the season.
The Cardinals also fear starting left guard Justin Pugh is done
for the season with a knee injury suffered Sunday, according to
NFL Network.
To fill Brown's spot, the Cardinals acquired Robbie Anderson
from the Carolina Panthers. Anderson was kicked out of the
Panthers' game with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday by interim
head coach Steve Wilks.
The Cardinals confirmed the deal Monday, adding the trade is
contingent upon Anderson passing a physical. The Cardinals are
sending Carolina a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-round
pick in 2025, per ESPN.
The Cardinals officially added Hopkins to the active roster and
released kicker Matt Ammendola.
Even with Anderson, Hopkins represents the potential cavalry
amid a streak of three losses in four games and on the heels of
producing only three field goals at Seattle in a 19-9 loss on
Sunday.
Kyler Murray was sacked six times by the Seahawks, who entered
the game ranked 32nd in scoring defense.
With Hopkins for 10 games last season, Murray was 8-2, completed
72 percent of his passes and had a touchdown-to-interception
ratio of 19-9.
In 10 games without the five-time Pro Bowler since the start of
the 2021 season, Murray is 3-7 with a completion percentage of
64 and an 11-6 TD-INT ratio.
Anderson, 29, did not have any catches in Sunday's 24-10 loss to
the Rams. Wilks sent him to the locker room late in the third
quarter after Anderson got in a heated argument with position
coach Joe Dailey.
"No one is bigger than the team," Wilks said after the loss,
which dropped Carolina to 1-5. "I'm not going to focus and put a
lot of attention on one individual."
Anderson has caught 13 of his 27 targets this season for 206
yards and one touchdown in six games. Over seven seasons with
the New York Jets (2016-19) and Panthers, he has 368 receptions
for 4,880 yards and 29 scores in 101 games (84 starts).
Pugh, 32, is in his sixth season in Arizona. He's having
additional testing done to ascertain the severity of his injury.
He has started all but one of his 57 games with the Cardinals.
Drafted No. 19 overall in 2013 by the New York Giants, Pugh has
started 119 of 120 games in his 10-year career.
--Field Level Media
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