NFL free agency grades: How did each team do?

Houston Texans

How much longer can Bill O’Brien ride Deshaun Watson’s coattails until he’s unceremoniously fired? It’s a question O’Brien apparently intends on answering himself, because he made yet another baffling trade this offseason, with this one being the worst of the bunch.

After jettisoning Jadevon Clowney and mortgaging future draft picks last year for skill position players in an unwise doubling-down of his own coaching “skills” to win a Super Bowl in 2019-2020, O’Brien decided he needed to make his boldest move yet. For seemingly no reason, he shipped one of the best players in franchise history, DeAndre Hopkins, to the Arizona Cardinals.

And what did he get in return for arguably the league’s best wide receiver and a fourth-round pick? Oft-injured running back David Johnson and a second-round pick. It is a monumentally bad trade by a “GM” who is clearly in over his head as the “leader” of the Texans organization, and it looks even worse in juxtaposition to the fair haul the Minnesota Vikings received for their superstar receiver Stefon Diggs.

Houston then gave nearly $20 million guaranteed to Randall Cobb as something of a replacement, and then they signed backup defensive back Eric Murray to a three-year deal worth $20 million. Murray might be a hidden gem, but O’Brien doesn’t seem to have an idea of what players are worth, showing how poorly equipped he is to be making these decisions for an organization.

The Texans had an awful first wave of free agency, but with Watson at quarterback, they’ll probably still waltz into the playoffs anyway.

Grade: F