By Jordan Long
Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a free agent. There are plenty of teams interested in signing him. One place that could make some sense is the Houston Texans.
Hopkins started his career with Houston. He was selected 27th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. Hopkins spent 2013 to 2019 with Houston. With Houston Hopkins surpassed the 1,000 receiving yard mark 5 times. His top year with Houston was in 2018 when he totaled a career-high 1,572 receiving yards.
On March 16th, 2020 Hopkins was traded to Arizona. Hopkins left Houston with 632 receptions for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns both rankings 2nd in the franchise of the Houston Texans.
For the past 3 years, Hopkins has been with Arizona. He was very productive in the Arizona offense, hauling in 221 passes for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns. Surprising, Arizona was trying to trade him during the offseason which didn’t make sense. He was their number 1 receiver. It never happened and Hopkins was released Tuesday, meaning he was a free agent. Arizona takes a $22.6 million in dead cap space for this year.
The Texans know Hopkins well. They drafted and helped him develop into one of the best receivers in the league.
The problem with Hopkins landing with the Texans is Houston is rebuilding. They haven’t earned a playoff spot since 2019. They lost to Kansas City in the Divisional Round. Last year they went 3-13-1. The Texans ended up with the 2nd pick and selected CJ Stroud. Stroud is expected to be the starting quarterback this season. Stroud still needs to beat out veterans Case Keenum and Davis Mills.
The Texans may be a landing spot for Hopkins because they have the cap space. They have around $20 million in cap space, more than enough to sign Hopkins. Hopkins also has family in Houston. If he wants to be closer to family, Houston is the answer. Time will only tell where he ends up.
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