DeAndre Hopkins wants to be a Texan for life, despite no QB yet
It’s a risk, but one DeAndre Hopkins says he’s willing to take.
The Pro Bowl receiver told the Houston Chronicle he wants to spend his entire career with the Houston Texans. Despite the team not currently having a franchise quarterback befitting of his special talents.
“If I can play my whole career here, I would,” Hopkins said. “I love this place. This organization took a chance on drafting me. You have to look at that.”
Just 23, Hopkins had another tremendous season — his third in the NFL — and his best to date. What’s more amazing: He did so, improving his catches, receiving yards and touchdowns through each of his first three seasons, despite good quarterback play.
The Texans, especially owner Bob McNair, have said they’ll do whatever they can to land a franchise QB this offseason. They made the playoffs at 8-8, despite sub-par performances from quarterbacks Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett (who was released midseason) and T.J. Yates and Brandon Weeden, who were added midseason. They then were wiped out at home by the Kansas City Chiefs in Round 1.
Moreover, Hopkins often was all alone at receiver this past season. The team had only Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts as reliable running mates, and those veterans were quite limited. Former Texans great Andre Johnson, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts before last season, no doubt knows what Hopkins is going through. Nonetheless, Hopkins loves the team — which has to be thrilling to management — despite the limitations he’s faced.
“I love this place,” Hopkins said. “I love this organization. I love the fans here. I’ll never forget after we went 2-14 (2013), I don’t recall too many fans bailing out on us. It speaks a lot about this city and who they are.”
That said, he won’t come cheap. Hopkins is due a $1 million base salary next season with a $445,004 roster bonus scheduled for the fifth day of training camp, and he’ll want a major raise over that — perhaps in line with the $13M-to-$14M per-year average for top wideouts. But signing Hopkins before he hits the market, as the Texans have done for J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, could actually save the franchise money in the long run.
Assuming they make progress toward a deal this offseason with their star wideout, it will be interesting to see which direction they go at QB — draft, free agency or trade — to help Hopkins out.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
