The Arizona Cardinals released wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, the team announced on Friday.

Since the conclusion of the 2022 season, Hopkins’ future with the Cardinals has been in doubt because of his team-high $30.75 million cap hit, which was the highest among wide receivers in the NFL and the ninth highest overall.

Hopkins, 30, had been the subject of trade rumors for some months, but the Cardinals chose not to deal the wide receiver before the NFL draft in April.

The general manager at the time, Monti Ossenfort, said: “DeAndre’s a Cardinal, and we’re moving forward.”

The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, and Buffalo Bills were among the teams thought to be interested in signing Hopkins.

This month, Hopkins opted out of the Cardinals’ voluntary organized team activities, stating on Brandon Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast that he was in Toronto working out in its place.

During his three seasons at Arizona, he totaled 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns on 221 catches, including 64 catches for a team-high 717 yards and three scores last season. Hopkins was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season for using performance-enhancing drugs in violation of the NFL’s policy.

Without Hopkins, the wide receiver corps for the Cardinals will be led by Rondale Moore (41 catches, 414 yards), Greg Dortch (52 catches, 467 yards), and Marquise Brown (67 catches, 709 yards) in 2022.

In March 2020, Hopkins was traded by the Houston Texans to the Arizona Cardinals along with a fourth-round pick in exchange for running back David Johnson, a second-round pick, and a pick in the fourth round of the 2021 draft.