Did Arizona Cardinals learn anything about playing without WR DeAndre Hopkins?

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury knows what it’s like to have a star player suspended for the first six games of the season. He also knows how his offense looks without receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

We’re about to find out how much Kingsbury has learned from both of those situations.

The optimism the Cardinals generated during the draft last week was smothered by the news on Monday that Hopkins, their all-Pro receiver, is suspended the first six games of the season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Kingsbury has been down these roads before, and they weren’t pleasant journeys. Cornerback Patrick Peterson, like Hopkins a perennial Pro Bowler and team captain, was suspended the first six games of 2019, Kingsbury’s first season. Peterson never played as well as he did in previous games.

Hopkins missed eight games last season, including the playoffs, and was gone for good after suffering a torn knee ligament in week 14.

With him, the Cardinals had one of the NFL's most dangerous offenses. With him, they were 8-2.

Without him, yards and touchdowns were hard to come by

Without him, they were 3-5, including the embarrassing loss to the Rams in the playoffs.

“The biggest thing is when we lost Hop, I didn’t do a good job schematically of adjusting some things that could have taken some pressure off of Kyler (Murray),” Kingsbury said at the Scouting Combine in February. “You lose a piece like that, you’ve got to find a way to be more creative. I’ve got to be better at that.”

Marquis Brown moves up depth chart

Perhaps the Cardinals knew last week of Hopkins’ upcoming suspension. Maybe that’s what motivated them to trade the 23rd overall pick to Baltimore last Thursday for receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and to draft tight end Trey McBride in the second round.

The idea was that Brown could be the No. 2 receiver. Thanks to Hopkins’ suspension, he moved up the depth chart only four days later.

Monday evening, Hopkins tweeted that he was tested last November and "trace elements of a banned substance" were found. Hopkins denied knowingly taking the substance, which he didn't identify.

The length of the suspension suggests Hopkins tested positive for an anabolic agent. A six-game suspension is the penalty for that under the NFL’s policy.

A positive test for a stimulant, diuretic or masking agent is two games. A positive test for a prohibited substance and a diuretic and masking agent is eight games.

But the details of the suspension don’t matter much. Hopkins won’t make his season debut until game seven, and who knows what kind of football shape he will be in at that time?

He will be allowed to participate in training camp, and the suspension will start on the day the opening-week roster is finalized.

Pressure is on Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury now faces the biggest challenge of his NFL coaching career. With Hopkins on the field, Kingsbury looked like one of the league’s brightest play callers. Without Hopkins, the bright bulb over Kingsbury's head dimmed considerably.

A workaholic, Kingsbury will continue to devote a large portion of the off-season to figuring how a Hopkins-less offense is going to score enough points to keep the Cardinals afloat.

Cardinals fans hope their coach has more success with this off-season goal than the one last year: fixing the team’s penchant for late-season collapses.

That didn’t work so well.

Kingsbury has to be especially thankful now that earlier this year he signed a contract extension through the 2027 season.

By violating the NFL’s PED policy, Hopkins has placed the team’s hopes for 2022 in peril.

There was a time not long ago that the Cardinals could always count on Hopkins playing. In his first eight years in the league, including his first with the Cardinals, Hopkins missed only two games.

“Hop don’t miss games,” was a popular saying around team headquarters whenever Hopkins appeared on the injury report.

After the suspension concludes, he will have missed 14 in the last two years.

In 2021, the Cardinals received more than a glimpse of what life was like without Hopkins in the lineup. Turns out, it was a lot less enjoyable and successful than it was with him.

They’ll open 2022 the same way they closed last season: with “Hop” missing games. If the Cardinals don’t handle it better than they did a year ago, the season might be over before Hopkins catches a pass.

Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DeAndre Hopkins' suspension puts pressure on Cardinals, Kliff Kingsbury