2020 NFL News: DeAndre Hopkins Elaborates On His Relationship With Bill O’Brien

This old wound just won’t heal. Yesterday, former Houston Texans and current Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins had an interview on ESPN’s “Jalen & Jacoby.” Much of the interview covers topics like Nuk’s fit in the Cardinals’ offense, how he expects to gel with Kyler Murray, and other Arizona-based concerns.

However, this is a Texans blog that needs Texans-related information. One of these tidbits was a question presented to Hopkins; Could he name all the Texans quarterbacks that he worked with?

Hey, at least he knew the greats! It’s actually a classy move to not list out the entirety of that Murderer’s Row. Each mention of Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett would feel like a twist of that Bowie knife planted right in our guts. The question that followed centered on what exactly happened between Hopkins and Bill O’Brien.

This reminds me of “Free Willy.” Seeing Hopkins leaping over the wall (BOB) to a better situation could make Clint Eastwood cry. It’s a beautiful answer and very diplomatic. There’s a shared affection between D-Hop and the City of Houston. Like he said, it’s business. There’s no hard feelings between him and the fans. However, Jalen Rose is a savvy interviewer and knows when to keep digging.

A lesser man could have taken this opportunity to take BOB to task. As it can be seen, Hopkins is a good man. All he wanted was to get paid what he was worth, but that ship sailed long ago. In DeAndre’s place, the team has an abundance of YAC receivers that could either reshape this offense or toil away in BOB’s bland system. One thing is for sure, it’ll be exciting to see how this shakes out. Finally, David Jacoby asks if Hopkins’ departure will affect Deshaun Watson’s chances of sticking with the Texans.

Just hearing this question set off major alarm bells, as any phrase with the words “Deshaun Watson leaving Houston” would send a fan into panic. Now, Hopkins defuses this bomb very nicely, but also takes a little dig at the team by saying, “His best target leaving would affect any quarterback’s game”. He’s not wrong. Jalen dog-piles on at the end as well, but that's showbiz, baby.

How do you feel about DeAndre’s comments? Would you have wanted him to show a bit more teeth in his answers?