Arizona trades David Johnson to Houston for DeAndre Hopkins

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kurtfaulk

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hopkins will get $25m ish per year on his next deal. they obviously don't want to pay that.

johnson gets $11m this year then $9m next season.

there's 3 years left on hopkins deal. maybe the texans didn't want to deal with hopkins demanding much more money this season or next.

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Ramskin

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Well it not going to be this year, but I'm glad for the new 14 team playoff, because the NFC West is freaking unfair!
 

kurtfaulk

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DeAndre Hopkins WR, Arizona Cardinals
The Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson reports "friction existed" between DeAndre Hopkins and Bill O'Brien.

ESPN's Dianna Russini adds there were multiple sideline blowouts between Hopkins and O’Brien last year. This explains why the Texans accepted a below-market deal for Hopkins, who's coming off his third straight 1,000 yard season and doesn't turn 28 until June. Hopkins is owed $39.9 million over the next three years — a relative bargain at his $13.1 million AVV. The Cardinals' addition of Hopkins puts Kyler Murray in a great spot for a second-year leap.
Source: Aaron Wilson on Twitter
Mar 16, 2020, 2:52 PM ET

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LA_vision

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Great, like this division needed to be any tougher. Thanks alot you stupid wannabe Bill Belichick.
 

CGI_Ram

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Well... Defending the Texans... when you consider how deep the WR class is. That 2nd easily grabs one... or used to trade up.

A lot cheaper than Hopkins... and... I suspect Hopkins mopes sometimes. If he wants a new contract... bad combo.

Besides, does anyone not believe the Texans are committed to Watson? They will add some offensive weapons in this draft to help him. They have something in mind.
 

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Well... Defending the Texans... when you consider how deep the WR class is. That 2nd easily grabs one... or used to trade up.

A lot cheaper than Hopkins... and... I suspect Hopkins mopes sometimes. If he wants a new contract... bad combo.

Besides, does anyone not believe the Texans are committed to Watson? They will add some offensive weapons in this draft to help him. They have something in mind.

If they're committed to Watson, then why trade Hopkins? He's not a diva like Michael Thomas, nor is he out-of-line with how O'Brien treats his players. They have holes all over (except running back, but then why trade for David Johnson if they already have Duke Johnson, who is a solid back in his own right?), and there's no guarantee that whichever receiver they draft will be as good as Hopkins is now. Hopkins is the best receiver in the NFL, only twenty-seven, and is on a reasonable contract.

It's a stupid move by a stupid GM.
 

CGI_Ram

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If they're committed to Watson, then why trade Hopkins? He's not a diva like Michael Thomas, nor is he out-of-line with how O'Brien treats his players. They have holes all over (except running back, but then why trade for David Johnson if they already have Duke Johnson, who is a solid back in his own right?), and there's no guarantee that whichever receiver they draft will be as good as Hopkins is now. Hopkins is the best receiver in the NFL, only twenty-seven, and is on a reasonable contract.

It's a stupid move by a stupid GM.

Then again, neither one of us know Hopkins.

If you coached the team you’d keep guys you loved... instead of trading them for “such a lousy haul”... right?
 

LA_vision

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Then again, neither one of us know Hopkins.

If you coached the team you’d keep guys you loved... instead of trading them for “such a lousy haul”... right?
You obviously haven't followed much on BOB, this isnt his first bad trade. He a clown GM, most of the league is calling in to fleece him.
 

Memento

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Then again, neither one of us know Hopkins.

If you coached the team you’d keep guys you loved... instead of trading them for “such a lousy haul”... right?

True. I don't know Hopkins. But O'Brien is known to be a hardass and unlikeable. Think about it as a player with the skill level of Hopkins: would you want to play for a guy who's constantly on your ass for things you can't control and get paid peanuts compared to what you're worth?

It is a lousy haul. The Texans took a broken-down running back in Johnson and they took the entirety of his contract. They basically got a second for Hopkins - the fourths were swapped from a year - and I guarantee that if they were more open, they'd have gotten a first, at least.

It will go down as one of the worst trades in any sport ever, in the vein of Brock for Broglio - only worse because Broglio was at least competent before he was traded. David Johnson has reached 1,000 yards only once in five seasons, and he lost his job to Kenyan Drake.

There is no way to defend this trade. Sorry if I seem passionate, but it's frustrating to see the last NFC West team get that much better.
 

So Ram

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Bill O'Brien has flat-out gutted his team in the process. The trade of Hopkins will be like the Warner trade for us; it's demoralizing to the team, will lead to others like Watson asking for a trade, and will eventually decay the team.

He may be a good coach, I won't deny it, but he's an incredibly shitty GM, and that's what's going to get him fired. He simply won't give up power.

Warner trade ???
 

So Ram

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True. I don't know Hopkins. But O'Brien is known to be a hardass and unlikeable. Think about it as a player with the skill level of Hopkins: would you want to play for a guy who's constantly on your ass for things you can't control and get paid peanuts compared to what you're worth?

It is a lousy haul. The Texans took a broken-down running back in Johnson and they took the entirety of his contract. They basically got a second for Hopkins - the fourths were swapped from a year - and I guarantee that if they were more open, they'd have gotten a first, at least.

It will go down as one of the worst trades in any sport ever, in the vein of Brock for Broglio - only worse because Broglio was at least competent before he was traded. David Johnson has reached 1,000 yards only once in five seasons, and he lost his job to Kenyan Drake.

There is no way to defend this trade. Sorry if I seem passionate, but it's frustrating to see the last NFC West team get that much better.

I was looking to see what team The Rams could trade Todd Gurley to couple nights ago. The Texans were the team I thought of because of him & Hopkins at the Lakers game. The had the cap space.
You can talk all the crap about O”Brien, but Watson needs to be SIGNED!!! They also have a nice Core of WR’s. Plus watch what a 2nd Rd WR brings back this 2020 Draft.

Yes Hopkins is a Stud who will make Arizona better, but the Trade is not even close to what you are saying. What does David Johnson have left ?? I don’t know,but in fantasy he was a High Draft Pick.
 

kurtfaulk

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Warner trade ???

He should have said cut unceremoniously. But only after his character was assassinated, health put in question and at the end of free agency so he couldn't find a team.

What a class act that mike Martz was.

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Texans-Cardinals trade grade: Arizona fleeces Houston in DeAndre Hopkins-for-David Johnson swap

It wouldn't be NFL free agency without a bombshell move to get the festivities started with a bang, and this time it's the Houston Texans who launched the nuke. With legal tampering officially underway on Monday, March 16 and free agency to begin two days later -- the NFL refusing to push back despite coronavirus concerns -- the Texans struck a mind-blowing deal to send wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick.

If you need a moment to pick your jaw up off of the floor, by all means, take your time.

The Texans are being soundly thumped by media and fans alike for signing off on this trade, and rightfully so. Despite Johnson having proving himself capable of being an impact running back and receiver out of the backfield, he simply hasn't done nearly enough to warrant comparing his value to that of Hopkins. What the latter has meant for the development of Deshaun Watson is evident, and his absence will be felt immediately -- regardless of who they may draft to supposedly replace him.

Texans: F

There's no point in beating around the bush here. Instead, let's grab the mower and barrel right through it, which is exactly what the Texans did to any and all sense of logic before striking this deal. It's virtually impossible to fathom a scenario wherein a team would trade arguably the best wide receiver in the league (third-best, at worst) in exchange for a running back. Now let's take it a step further and note the running back in question was demoted in 2019, and who is far from guaranteed to return to his prime form simply because he's in a new locale.

But wait, there's more.

The Texans are also taking on the entire brunt of Johnson's contract, to the tune of a combined $20 million cap hit over the next two seasons -- despite Johnson having only one 1,000-yard season under his belt in five tries. For the Texans, it would take Johnson becoming a 2,000-yard from scrimmage back over each year over the next two, and then signing an extension in Houston and continuing that level of dominance after the dreaded RB apex of 30 years old in order to justify shipping away Hopkins in his prime.

Try explaining this all to Watson with a straight face.

Cardinals: A+

Kudos to the Cardinals for convincing the Texans to chew off their own arm. In exchange for dumping Johnson's heavy salary, they were only forced to package a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick to land a top-three wideout who's also only 27 years old. They'll now combine him with future Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald -- who has committed to returning in 2020 -- and former second-round pick Christian Kirk, giving Offensive Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray some serious firepower going forward.

The club has also issued a tender on Kenyan Drake, who is the reason Johnson was demoted and ultimately shipped out in the first place.

It can't be overstated how great a deal this is for Arizona, who no longer needs to look for a wide receiver in the first or second round of this year's draft. Even after Fitzgerald does decide to hang up his cleats, the club is all set with Kirk and an absolute dynamo in Hopkins -- and it only cost them picks that, odds are, would never be able to match what Hopkins impact at the NFL level. In only seven seasons, he's amassed 8,602 receiving yards and 54 touchdowns, some of them being the most eye-popping receptions ever witnessed.

This is what the Cardinals are getting, and this is what the Texans figured it was OK to give up only months before asking their franchise quarterback to commit to a long-term deal.