Imagine receiver DeAndre Hopkins catching passes from quarterback Lamar Jackson.
That is the scenario that almost played out when the Houston Texans sought to deal their three-time All-Pro receiver on March 16. According to a report from the NFL Network’s Michael Silver, the Ravens “made a run” at trying to acquire Hopkins before the Texans ultimately sent their No. 1 receiver to the Arizona Cardinals.
With the Texans’ deal with the Cardinals, coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was able to acquire a 2020 second-round pick (40th overall), swap a 2020 fourth-round pick for a 2021 fourth-rounder, and got their starting running back in former 2016 All-Pro David Johnson.
Silver did not specify what the trade package looked like from the Ravens. Other than capital for capital, another component to trading players is determining whether the trade recipient can afford to pay the contract of their new player.
“Any time you make a trade, each trade is unique unto itself,” O’Brien told Houston reporters on a conference call on April 16. “So, when you’re trading a player like DeAndre Hopkins who has three years left on his deal and you’re trying to find a trade partner, you’re not talking to 31 other teams.
“I’m not going to get into all the details of this, but you’re finding a trade partner, No. 1, that’s going to be able to pay DeAndre Hopkins. That was a big part of it.”
Hopkins is in the NFC West, and the Texans won’t see him until next season at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. If the Texans would have sent Hopkins to the Ravens, they would have seen their former 2013 first-round pick as early as this season and possibly had a match-up with his new club in the playoffs, should both teams be fortunate to return to the postseason for the third straight year.
