Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins wishes he could box 49ers’ Charvarius Ward

There’s a player-player rivalry brewing in the NFC West. Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is ready for a bout with San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward, and he’s not talking about the Week 18 rematch between the two teams in January.

Following this past Monday night’s win over the Cardinals in Mexico City, Ward criticized Hopkins following the 49ers’ 38-10 victory.

“He was getting locked up. He was doing some dirty things,” Ward said. “He tried to clip me, he grabbed me by the throat. He grabbed my facemask on one play, so I don’t respect his game. That’s steroid boy.”

That last part is a jab regarding Hopkins’ six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs to start the season.

Hopkins responded by calling the comments “laughable” and “funny.” He had more to say on Friday (h/t Damond Talbot of NFL Draft Diamonds).

“I hate to hear a guy talk like that about somebody, about anybody,” Hopkins told reporters in the Cardinals locker room. “So, for me, I pray for people like that. But a lot of people are tough when they can go and type something and say something. I respect guys like Le’Veon Bell who get in that boxing ring.

“I wish there was something [I could do right now about] that guy over there (Ward) that said something [about] me. I would definitely love to get in a boxing ring and see how tough he is in real life.”