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The DeAndre Hopkins sweepstakes have taken over the NFL landscape ever since the three-time first-team All-Pro wide receiver was released by the Arizona Cardinals on May 26. Several teams seem to be a solid fit for Hopkins one of them being the New England Patriots.
With a need for a true No. 1 target, the Patriots and Hopkins make sense together. That is until you dig into the weeds a tiny bit, as Adam Schefter eluded to on the latest episode of his podcast.
“New England could be interesting, New England has a need there,” Schefter said. “But what I keep coming back to is that, in Houston, the man that traded DeAndre Hopkins was the then-Texans head coach Bill O’Brien. I don’t think those two individuals particularly cared for one another. So now it’s OK?”
O'Brien is now the Patriots' offensive coordinator which could take the franchise out of the running for Hopkins if the two won't let the past be just that.
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O'Brien was Hopkins' head coach for six seasons in Houston and the two were a major part of the team's success during that span. The Texans made the postseason in four of those six seasons, winning two playoff games.
Houston named O'Brien the general manager in January 2020 and he traded Hopkins seven weeks later. The move turned out to be the beginning of the end for Bill O'Brien in Houston as the Texans fired him after an 0-4 start to the 2020 season.
DeAndre Hopkins may still end up a Patriot when all is said and done, but Schefter makes a good point by bringing up the potential hostility between the wideout and his former head coach.