The latest rumor is Hopkins could be available, so how could the Texans move on from the star

Would the Texans trade DeAndre Hopkins?

Cody Stoots
Mar 16, 2020, 10:34 am
DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans were oh, so close. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Peter King brought up the rumor. Let's dive into the potential for a Hopkins move.

The rumor

The full rumor from Peter King in his Football Morning in America column on Monday.

"It might be just pre-draft chatter, but two teams over the weekend told me to watch Houston and DeAndre Hopkins, who has three years and a reasonable $40 million left on his contract, and who'd cause only a $3-million cap hit to the Texans if they traded him. Houston is currently in draft hell, without a top-50 pick in 2020 and 2021, and coach Bill O'Brien has huge needs to fill on his offensive line, in the secondary and overall youth on the front seven; J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus will play this year at 31 and 30."

I have also heard Hopkins and O'Brien haven't always heard the coziest relationship.

There is no way the Texans offensive line could be considered as having "huge needs" to fill. The Texans will have every spot with the exception of right guard locked up and likely unchallenged for multiple years when Laremy Tunsil gets his contract extension.

Yes, there is concern about pass rushing age. That's what free agency is for and that isn't a need for 2020 or perhaps even 2021.

The money

Hopkins is wildly underpaid. WILDLY. He is the best wideout in football, and if not the best easily top three.

Whatever team gets him would have him on an amazing deal. It would cost just $3 million for the Texans to trade Hopkins and would lead to a savings of $11 million according to Spotrac.

The idea the Texans might be scared of Hopkins wanting a new contract doesn't make sense. Again, it doesn't make sense.

The new CBA has massive penalties for a player who is sitting out training camp. There is no leverage for Hopkins to try to get a new contract. None. So worries about a new deal would be silly. Unfortunate for Hopkins that the market outpaced him but the Texans have no reason to even entertain a new deal for Hopkins and again, Hopkins has no leverage.

What could the Texans get?

Odell Beckham went with a player for a first round pick and a third round pick. The Giants also got back two solid players in safety Jabrill Peppers and guard Kevin Zeitler.

If you drop the players and add draft compensation the Texans could certainly rebuild the lack of top draft picks. It is worth noting, most consider this the deepest and best wideout draft class in a while. Would two first round picks or a first and a couple of second round picks get it done?

Amari Cooper was traded for just a first round pick.

Is this enough? Certainly doesn't seem like it would be for a player who has been consistent his whole career and also isn't scheduled to be a free agent for three more years and even then will be 30 years old when his contract runs out.

So, will they do it?

God I hope not. Hopkins is the second-best player in the franchise's history and the best offensive player ever. Replacing him with a rookie or veteran, especially when the other wideouts on the roster are unreliable, would be taking a massive step back. It doesn't help the team win in 2020.

Bill O'Brien would be widely criticized for it and he wouldn't be able to show if he is successful right away while Hopkins would likely crush immediately for a new team. He also would have to answer for the move, he is of course the shot-caller now.

It doesn't make sense, but how many times have you seen the Texans operate in a similar manner under O'Brien? A few times. That's the scary part. It is extremely unlikely. Extremely. But not impossible.

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ROCKETS FALL TO WARRIORS

Critical takeaways from Rockets' 105-103 loss to Warriors

Rockets fall short against Warriors. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

This wasn't the typical Houston Rockets-Golden St. Warriors game when Mike D' Antoni and Steve Kerr were having an offensive battle of wits. James Harden, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, was nowhere in sight for the Rockets Friday night. Although the Rockets are in rebuild mode, it was still an interesting game. The intensity was high throughout the entire game. Emotions between Stephen Silas and Kerr were heavy, as they were yelling and jumping up-and-down along the sidelines.

A series of runs and back-and-forth scoring gave a slight reminder of the old rivalry between the Warriors and Rockets. Steph Curry was having a tough game, but with 5.1 seconds left, he was able to create great separation from a step back and drained an incredible midrange shot over Kevin Porter Jr. It was heartbreaking because Porter played great defense on Curry throughout the entire game, with Curry only making 6 out of 22 shots. Porter had a tremendous first-half defensively on Curry and recorded an 88.9 defensive rating. Porter had a good feel for guarding Curry, he didn't allow himself to switch away from him. He anticipated passing lanes and ripped Curry a couple of times.

Besides Porter playing great defense, the Rockets played good as a whole. They finished with 10 steals. Their main technique was to switch everything on defense, and Kenyon Martin Jr. and Christian Wood did a good job. It's never easy staying in front of Curry and Jordan Poole, but if they could hold their ground for five seconds, it became possible. Porter did a great job at times by communicating on defense, so he could tell Jalen Green and Eric Gordon when to switch.

And speaking of Green--- he had a strange night offensively. He went 0-11 from the field but made two great plays in the fourth quarter. Instead of Silas keeping Green on the bench because of his cold hand, he kept him in the game for learning purposes. Green made an outstanding play on Curry at the 2:52 mark in the 4th quarter. Before that, he missed a shot from three but fought hard for the rebound, then found a cutting Wood towards the rim. Green might of struggled, but the effort was there.

This was a tough loss for the Rockets, but they are steadily improving. The Rockets are 3-5 in their last five games.

Up next: The Rockets face the Spurs on Tuesday night.

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