Wide receiver Deandre Hopkins (5 years/$81M in 2017)
Deandre Hopkins was unguardable his entire Texans career, up until that wild trade that sent him to the Arizona Cardinals. During his Texans career, Hopkins totaled 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns on 632 receptions. He would also accumulate three First-Team All-Pro nominations, one Second-Team All-Pro, and was the NFL’s touchdown leader in 2017. Hopkins was coming off back-to-back years with 1,210 yards and 1,521 yards when Houston gave him his contract extension.
At the time of his contract extension, the only other wide receiver Houston gave that much money to was Andre Johnson. In 2010 Houston gave Johnson a contract worth 7 years/$67.8M. After his blockbuster trade to the Cardinals, Texans fans are left wondering how far that team could have gone if they stuck together for a few more years.
Now, coming off a 1,000-yard season, Texans fans will have to face their former star wide receiver twice a year. Hopkins is out for revenge this season after posting to Twitter/X calling out NFL executives who have called him washed. It’s certainly fair to assume he’s circled these two games on his calendar.