Wrong kind of shockwaves
After trading Hopkins, losing Reader in free agency, O’Brien has big holes to fill
Team certainly not better after trading Hopkins, losing Reader.
When the free agency window opened Monday, the Texans created a sonic boom, but it had nothing to do with agreeing to contract terms with a player.
Bill O’Brien’s decision to trade All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona sent shockwaves across the NFL and infuriated the fan base in unprecedented fashion.
The only time in Houston’s pro football history that a trade has created this kind of controversy and backlash was 1984 when the Oilers traded Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell to New Orleans.
With no social media driving the blowback, the Campbell trade pales in comparison to the Hopkins decision that has caused O’Brien to be ridiculed locally and nationally and shows no signs of letting up.
After the first week of free agency, no one can argue the Texans are better — or even as good — as last season when they finished 10-6, won the AFC South and defeated Buffalo in the wildcard round before being eliminated at Kansas City after blowing a 24-point lead.
Without Hopkins and nose tackle D.J. Reader, who signed a four-year, $53-million contract with Cincinnati, the Texans have huge holes at receiver and in the defensive line.
One player won’t be able to replace Hopkins, who caught 104 passes for 1,165 yards (11.2-yard average) and seven touchdowns.
Reader was a bulldozer in the middle for the last three of his four seasons. In 2019, he was in on 52 tackles and recorded 2½ sacks. O’Brien and his staff will have to look long and hard to find another player like Reader, who was a fifth-round pick.
In free agency, the Texans also lost third-team running back Taiwan Jones, a special teams standout who left after one season to return to Buffalo.
Among the other veterans not expected to return are running back Carlos Hyde, cornerback Johnathan Joseph, safety Jaleel Addae and running back Lamar Miller.
O’Brien and his chief contract negotiator, Kevin Krajcovic, have signed four free agents — receiver Randall Cobb (Dallas), safety Eric Murray (Cleveland), safety Jaylen Watkins (Los Angeles Chargers) and offensive tackle/guard Brent Qvale (New York Jets).
The Texans also will get running back David Johnson when the trade with the Cardinals is official and he passes a physical.
Of the four free agents, Cobb should make the biggest contribution if he stays healthy. In his one season with the Cowboys, Cobb caught 55 passes for 828 yards (15.1 average) and three touchdowns. Cobb, 29, is an inside receiver who’s expected to line up between Will Fuller and Kenny Stills, both of whom are in the last year of their contracts.
Murray, Watkins and Qvale will compete for backup roles.
Murray (5-11, 199), 26, entered the NFL as a cornerback drafted in the fourth round by Kansas City in 2016. He moved to safety and started 11 games in three seasons with the Chiefs. Traded to the Browns last season, Murray started four games and excelled on special teams.
Watkins spent his first four seasons as a reserve for Philadelphia. After recovering from a torn ACL, he started three games for the Chargers last season.
Qvale spent his first five seasons with the Jets, starting only 15 games.
Johnson, 28, better win the starting job in place of Hyde, who’s coming off a 1,070-yard season. Obviously, O’Brien believes he can, or he wouldn’t have wanted Johnson included in the Hopkins trade.
Johnson was demoted last season when Kliff Kingsbury took over as Arizona’s coach. He was limited to 345 yards rushing and 370 yards receiving. He scored six touchdowns, including four receiving.
O’Brien and Krajcovic have spent much of their time concentrating on bringing back 12 players: cornerback Bradley Roby, tight end Darren Fells, inside linebacker Dylan Cole, nose tackle Brandon Dunn, receiver DeAndre Carter, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, snapper Jon Weeks, quarterback AJ McCarron, offensive tackle Roderick Johnson, cornerback Phillip Gaines and inside linebacker Tyrell Adams.
Now that the first wave of free agency is over, O’Brien is expected to add more players but none who’ll create a splash.
With the additions and subtractions, the Texans still have needs that could be targeted in free agency or the draft. As it stands today, they have eight draft choices, including two in the second round (40th and 57th), one in the third (90th), one in the fourth (111th), one in the fifth (171st) and three in the seventh (240th, 248th, 250th).
Besides the obvious priority at wide receiver, the Texans need help in the defensive line and at cornerback. They also need another nose tackle.
No matter what O’Brien does in free agency and the draft, it won’t ease the fans’ pain of losing one of the NFL’s premier receivers and one of the threegreatest players in franchise history along with Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt.