The Texans have been a team to keep an eye on this offseason, but not for ideal reasons.
It feels like it’s been one head-scratching move after another by Houston dating back to the start of the new NFL year. Bill O’Brien and Co.’s first move out of the gate pretty safely was the most perplexing, as they sent DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for pennies on the dollar.
Deshaun Watson understandably didn’t seem too pleased with the Hopkins deal, but what about Houston’s defensive cornerstone, J.J Watt? The three-time Defensive Player of the Year addressed the odd move in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“Anytime you have a guy like Hop, who in my opinion, has the best hands in the game and is obviously one of the top receivers of the game, it certainly catches your eye, that’s for sure,” Watt told Jimmy Traina. “It’s always tough to lose a guy like that, no matter what the situation is. It’s above my pay grade and it’s something that obviously the team and the organization feels is in the best interest of the team. So as a player on the team, I do my job and I go to work and I play the games, and the GM and the owners, they do their job and they try and do what they feel is best for the team. And so, all I can do is show up and go to work and hope that all the guys that we have are great contributors to our team.”
The Texans proceeded to replace Hopkins with the oft-injured Brandin Cooks, who owns a pretty hefty contract as well. Houston did select a wideout in this year’s draft, but not until the fifth round when it grabbed Rhode Island’s Isaiah Coulter.
Considering Hopkins was as sure-handed as they come, it could be a tough adjustment for Watson to now work with a pass-catching group that’s largely unreliable.
