Bill O’Brien Just Had His Waterloo...Until The Next One, Anyway

Bill O’Brien, who you may have heard is the general manager and head coach of the Houston Texans, decided that trading DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth round draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson, a 2020 second round draft pick, and a 2021 fourth round draft pick improved the Texans.

He is wrong. Horribly, unequivocally, unmistakably wrong. This trade is an unmitigated disaster for the Texans.

I cannot fathom how a rational human being thinks that getting rid of the best wide receiver in football—or one of the five best, if you want to be more circumspect or think I’m being a homer—makes the Texans better either in the short or long term. I thought acquiring David Johnson and having to pay his entire salary alone was a bad move. Doing that and getting rid of DeAndre Hopkins in the process? It’s as if Bill O’Brien has decided he wants to field a markedly worse team in 2020 than he did in 2019 on purpose.

If you’re Deshaun Watson, Laremy Tunsil, or any other player truly looking to compete at the highest level, why would you cast your lot with Bill O’Brien and the Texans? How does getting rid of DeAndre Freaking Hopkins, whether he was happy with the amount of money he has left on the remaining three years of his current contract or not, show you’re interested in winning? While it’s theoretically possible there’s another shoe to drop that somehow makes this move look more reasonable—and understand that I am the same guy who tweeted this earlier today—I don’t know what that could be.

You were a bit discouraged that the Texans surrendered a third round pick for Duke Johnson? That was a mere bump in the road. You thought the poorly timed and executed trade of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks was a disaster? There’s a new standard to judge it by. Believed the Texans committed a venal sin by trading the farm for Tunsil without having an extension agreed to with Tunsil before the deal was consummated? That now looks like a masterpiece compared to this finger painting.

The Texans just traded DeAndre Hopkins. They are a much worse football team now than they were an hour ago. Bill O’Brien showed the world again, and with the greatest emphasis imaginable, that he has no business being in charge of an NFL franchise.

Stay tuned for O’Brien’s next move, which surely must consist of trading Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, and the deed to NRG Stadium for some magic beans and bits of string.