GLENDALE, Ariz. — Star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and starting running back Kenyan Drake continued to be held out of practice Wednesday for issues with soreness.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury says the team is being overly cautious on purpose with the two players.
"Both guys are still just working through that," Kingsbury told reporters Wednesday. "Like we’ve said all along, they’re two guys who we want to get to that first game, so we’re being overly cautious, making sure they feel great, 100% and not getting them back on that field until they are 100%. They know that and they’ve been instructed to that."
While limited in his on-field time so far at training camp, Hopkins has impressed Kingsbury and the team already with his skill and attitude.
"Very conscientious player, he cares about his teammates, he’ll talk to anybody on the team," Kingsbury said. "He doesn’t come across as a superstar mentality, which is refreshing. I think our team has already learned that he likes to mix it up with the guys and when he steps on that field, he’s serious about football."
Murray says his relationship with Hopkins has continued to grow.
"He’s a genuine dude," Murray said. "He loves to have fun and play around, but at the same time when he gets on the field, it’s all business. We’ve had a great relationship so far. Hopefully, we can keep it going."
Murray said that when Hopkins was taking first-team reps, he went up in the air above cornerback Byron Murphy and snagged the back shoulder throw out of the air. It was a play so impressive that it had players laughing.
"It was just kind of one of those moments where it was like ‘yeah, OK, he’s on our team.’ Everybody on the sideline was laughing and stuff like that," Murray said. "His hands are obviously incredible, I think he wears a 3X glove, he’s gotta cut them. Everybody knows how big his hands are."
Kingsbury has taken notice of Hopkins' hand size as well.
"I’m not an expert on receivers or hand-size or things of that nature, but I’ve never seen a player his size with that type of hand width, I mean he just engulfs that thing, he catches it one-handed with ease, easier than I catch with two," Kingsbury said. "That obviously helps who he is as a player."
As for camp overall, despite the pandemic, Murray said it's been much better than last year's training camp.
"So far it’s been a much better camp than last year in terms of communication, preparation, execution, all of it’s been better and I think it’s showing on the field," he said.
The Cardinals will hold their annual "Red and White Practice" on Friday, where players go through real scenarios in a scrimmage-like format. This time, there won't be fans.
The practice will be filmed Friday and it will air on 12 News on Saturday night following playoff hockey.
Kingsbury says the emphasis is going to be on the younger players who are competing for a spot and trying to showcase their talent to fans.
“Young player emphasis, knowing this is being filmed for a television audience, the lights are on," Kingsbury said. "Obviously it’s less intense than when the fans are there, but they know what they’re playing for and they know people are watching, so we want to ramp that up a little bit and see how they handle that type of pressure. We want to see who steps up when their number is called in that environment.”
The Cardinals take the field for the first time in 18 days in San Francisco against the 49ers.
