When the legal tampering period opened three weeks ago ahead of NFL free agency, the Houston Texans made the most noise — and not in a good way.
The Texans agreed to trade DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals, with the top part of the return package for Houston being David Johnson. It was a perplexing trade in the moment, and remains so to this day. But you’ll notice, the trade actually hasn’t officially gone through.
So, why is that?
According to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, the players have yet to pass their physicals.
“As one source explained it to PFT, Johnson has had a preliminary physical performed on his wrist, which was injured in Week One of the 2017 season,” Florio wrote. “He passed that portion of the physical, despite reduced range of motion that initially caused the doctor (not an NFL doctor) to hesitate. Johnson still has to take a physical as to the rest of his body.”
While Florio doesn’t mention anything about even a preliminary physical for Hopkins, he does note, citing a source, that the physicals, and in turn the trade, likely will need to be finalized by the draft since 2020 picks were part of the deal.
Obviously, players taking routine physicals should be taking a backseat amid a global pandemic. And if both sides are confident the physicals will be passed, there’s really no need to worry.
