The Houston Texans managed to make headlines for all the wrong reasons this offseason when they opted to trade wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. It seems the backlash from the move has not gone unnoticed by defensive end J.J. Watt.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Watt feels the best way to counter the criticism is by winning:

“In terms of Internet and fans, I see everything. My head isn't in the sand. We have to win. Winning cures everything. The goal is to bring this city a championship. I want all the fans to be with us moving toward that.”

There is certainly plenty of truth to Watt's comments and the Texans will need to do plenty of winning if they hope to somewhat justify the reasoning behind their moves in the offseason.

Of course, expectations remain as high as ever going into the 2020 NFL season. After all, Houston was seemingly on the verge of making the franchise's first-ever trip to the AFC Conference Championship until they allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in NFL history.

Although the loss continues to sting, Texans fans still had high hopes that they were on the verge of taking that next step. That was until head coach Bill O'Brien decided to part ways with arguably the best wideout in the league in Hopkins for running back David Johnson and a 2020 second-round pick.

The only way that the team can be vindicated is if they show a notable improvement on offense. It is safe to say that this will be much more difficult to do without a four-time All-Pro in the receiving corps.