There are serious consequences awaiting Texans after DeAndre Hopkins trade

The Houston Texans are in a terrible state right now after trading away their superstar wideout, DeAndre Hopkins.

Bill O’Brien might singlehandedly destroy everything the Houston Texans had built with an absurd trade that made waves through Twitter in an isolated Monday afternoon. There were rumblings of the Texans interested in improving their talent at running back with Carlos Hyde and Lamar Miller’s contracts expiring.

Houston had the opportunity to sign a running back in free agency, acquire one via trade, or resort to the draft to select a ball carrier on a team-friendly rookie deal. However, O’Brien decided to strike a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to receive David Johnson, a former Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro in 2016.

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Johnson was one of the best players at his position at one point in his career. At 28, he had a few seasons left in his contract in which the Texans could insert him in the offense to give the Texans a dominant running attack to accompany their solid passing game.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as the Texans included their best wide receiver in DeAndre Hopkins to seal the deal. The Texans not only traded one of their franchise players but arguably one of the best wideouts in the league in a deal that didn’t need him to be included.

Johnson was being paid handsomely for his accomplishments with the Cardinals and was slated to be the third and fourth highest-paid running back in the next two seasons. In due time, his contract was going to outweigh his production as he continued to age due to his wear and tear.

The Texans weren’t even properly compensated for taking on Johnson’s deal that was looking like a bad investment for the Cardinals. That isn’t to say Johnson is a bad player, but his deal was not attractive to teams, nor was it viewed as an asset after he struggled to play in 2019 due to injuries.

Houston had the opportunity to absorb his huge contract from the Cardinals’ hands and possibly get an asset similar to the deal they took part in 2017 when they traded away Brock Osweiler’s contract to the Cleveland Browns along with a 2nd round selection.

Texans ended up trading Hopkins, a fourth-rounder in exchange for Johnson, a second-rounder and a fourth-round draft choice. In essence, the Texans resulted in getting a second-round pick in this upcoming draft for one of the most dominant receivers the game has witnessed these past few seasons. To put it into a better context, Odell Beckham Jr., Amari Cooper, and Brandin Cooks were all traded from the respective teams that drafted them for at least a first-round pick.

There were reports of Hopkins wanting a new deal to match the output he was putting for the Texans, but he was under contract for three more seasons. Houston held some leverage in being able to work on a new deal in the future to appease their superstar or begin fielding calls.

Houston had no legitimate reason to trade their top receiver, and once they decided to open up the phone lines, they would have had a long list of suitors willing to have a bidding war for his services.

O’Brien put himself in the corner and took a deal that will cost him dearly. If not now, then later because it didn’t take long for players in the Texans locker room to voice their disapproval of the lopsided trade.

O’Brien is on the verge of losing the locker room if he hadn’t already with this trade. There were talks of contract extensions for Deshaun Watson and Laremy Tunsil, but it’s important to wonder whether why they would want to play for a head coach that was so willing to trade away one of their leaders on the field and in the locker room.

These are trying times for an organization that worked so hard to build a team that was a few pieces away from contending. Texans now have to look towards adding a number one receiver this offseason while healing any ill will the locker room might have towards their head coach and general manager.