Texans trade for David Johnson to add draft capital
By John Buhler
After slapping Kenyan Drake with the transition tag on Monday, the Arizona Cardinals traded David Johnson to the Houston Texans for DeAndre Hopkins.
The Arizona Cardinals are making some huge moves today.
After using the transition tag on running back Kenyan Drake earlier Monday morning, the Cardinals have reportedly traded their former starter David Johnson to the Houston Texans. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report on this.
Johnson was a former third-round pick out of Northern Iowa by the Cardinals in 2015. In 2016, Johnson had a career year, as he rushed for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns, making a Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro in the process. He only played in one game the following season in 2017 and hasn’t been the same player since.
Trade: Cardinals and Texans are agreeing to a trade that will send David Johnson to Houston, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
Johnson signed a three-year deal worth $39 million in September 2018. This was seen as an albatross of a contract because his skill set is declining. We were expecting this move was only done to collect draft capital. Too bad this deal went even more off the rails with Bill O’Brien getting railroaded in horrendous fashion.
Schefter would later report that going Arizona’s way was star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a late-round pick. Houston would be getting Johnson and a second-round pick in the deal. Arizona just got so much more interesting with a big three offensively of Kyler Murray at quarterback, Drake at running back and now Hopkins at wide receiver. Deshaun Watson has to be dead inside.
Framework of trade still being finalized, sources tell ESPN:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
🏈Cardinals get DeAndre Hopkins and a late-round pick.
🏈Texans get David Johnson and a second-round pick.
Other picks involved, but Hopkins wanted a new deal that Arizona can provide.
This is a deal that massively impacts the NFC West and the AFC South. Arizona can now say it can compete in a very tough division, though the Cardinals might still be a year away from contending for a division crown. As for Houston, they have a problem. The Texans won’t be favored to repeat in the division unless they get an answer to replace the gaping hole from Hopkins’ departure.
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So the Texans traded away arguably their best player for a second-round pick. O’Brien should be raked over the coals for this. This was a deal peak Matt Millen running the Detroit Lions wouldn’t have done. For Arizona, the Cardinals are winning the early part of the free agency period. Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense is about to be off the chain. They are now must-watch television.