Madden wouldn’t let DeAndre Hopkins trade go through
Trading DeAndre Hopkins was a foolish move by the Texans, and even the Madden video game declined the deal.
A blockbuster trade came on Monday, as the Houston Texans will send wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and two draft picks (2020 second-rounder, 2021 fourth-rounder).
It’s the latest in a series of puzzling moves by Texans’ head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien, and in many regards the worst one of the bunch.
Fantasy football and the Madden video game give the rest of us a chance to play general manager. So as foolish as it is to trade one of the best wide receivers in the league for a declining running back with a bloated salary, leaving aside the draft picks involved and Hopkins being in line for a big contract soon, someone was going to spin the trade through Madden.
Thankfully, it appears multiple someones did so.
even madden didn't accept the deandre hopkins trade pic.twitter.com/47IX17n2wE
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) March 16, 2020
The taunt of “make a better offer’ is quite savage on the part of the virtual Bill O’Brien. If only the real-life version was anywhere near as savvy.
https://twitter.com/Avenger2108/status/1239606236150140928?s=20
Adding the draft picks to the trade, as easily could have been expected, didn’t change anything for Madden’s version of artificial intelligence in roundly declining the trade offer for Hopkins. In fact, “artificial intelligence” might be an appropriate new nickname for O’Brien’s acumen as a general manager and a head coach.
A rift with Hopkins appears to have pushed the trade.
As shocking on the surface and unpopular as the DeAndre Hopkins trade is, multiple sources noted throughout past year that friction existed between him and Bill O'Brien that could ultimately lead to his exit. And it did today. How they pivot from this will be interesting
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 16, 2020
I covered many Houston Texans game this past season and multiple times while I was on the sideline during the game I observed frustrations between DeAndre Hopkins and Bill O’Brien. Something always seemed off...
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 16, 2020
Related Story. Winners and losers of the DeAndre Hopkins trade. light
In roughly a year as de facto and now official general manager in Houston, O’Brien has gutted the Texans of draft capital and he has now made three trades for running backs. But his crown jewel of stupidity is trading Hopkins with three years left on his contract, as he let a personality conflict dictate a business move. Madden not allowing the trade to go through is only further proof.