KVSP 
The Arizona Cardinals surrendered the No. 1 seed in the NFC with their 30-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, and one of their best players suffered a worrisome injury. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will miss the rest of the regular season with a sprained knee. The Cardinals hope Hopkins can return “at some point” in the playoffs.
CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson reported Hopkins was tentatively scheduled for surgery Friday, and the internal expectation is for Hopkins to miss two-to-four months. The Cardinals are not expecting Hopkins back pre-surgery.
Hopkins suffered the injury late in Monday night’s matchup, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Tuesday that Hopkins was searching for a second opinion after an initial MRI, according to the Cardinals’ official website. Obviously, the fact that Hopkins was looking for a second opinion after his MRI was not good news. Schefter said that it is still unknown if the star wideout will need surgery.
In 10 games this season, Hopkins has caught 42 passes for 572 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s third on the team in receiving yards, but leads all teammates in touchdown catches. The five-time Pro Bowler missed three games due to a hamstring injury, but returned to the starting lineup for Arizona’s Week 13 matchup with the Chicago Bears. Just two games later, however, he will be shut down again.
While the 10-3 Cardinals are now the No. 3 seed in the NFC, they are still tied for having the best record in the NFL and have four games left on the docket to fight for the first-round bye. That will be difficult to do without Hopkins, however.
