The Texans are having the worst offseason anybody can remember

The Houston Texans were close to hosting the AFC Championship Game three months ago. Now, they appear headed for a disastrous downturn.

Bill O’Brien has to be doing a bit, right?

At this point, the Houston Texans head coach and general manager should announce he’s kidding, and somehow got the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams to help him with the act.

Remember when the Texans blew a 24-0 lead to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round, watching Patrick Mahomes go on a 51-7 run? Yeah, somehow that’s not the worst part of the franchise’s last three months.

This offseason, O’Brien traded away superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Cardinals for broken-down running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round choice (40th-overall) and a 2021 fourth-rounder.

In free agency, O’Brien allowed budding 25-year-old star nose tackle D.J. Reader to walk, instead paying veteran receiver Randall Cobb $27 million over three seasons. This in an offseason where outside of Amari Cooper, not a single receiver was given more than a two-year deal due to the outstanding rookie crop.

O’Brien then signed safety Eric Murray — a career backup — for three years and $20.25 million.

Finally, the tour de force was completed on Thursday (we hope) when the Texans sent a 2020 second-round pick (57th-overall) to the Rams for receiver Brandin Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round choice.

In case you’re dizzy, here’s everything in one tweet:

Essentially, the Texans mangled their cap sheet and got worse. How much worse? Let’s start with these facts:

Hopkins’ remaining contract: three years, $39.9M ($0 guaranteed)
Cooks’ remaining contract: three years, $52M ($24.5M dead cap)

Hopkins’ career: 3x All-Pro, 4x Pro Bowler
Cooks’ career: 0 All-Pro or Pro Bowls

Hopkins’ 2019 season: 104 catches for 1.165 yards and seven touchdowns
Cooks’ 2019 season: 42 catches 583 yards and two touchdowns

O’Brien didn’t want to renegotiate with Hopkins and traded him for it. This, despite then turning around and acquiring a player significantly less talented and with a larger deal. Add in Johnson, who is due $20.1 million over the next two seasons. If released before 2021, he carries a $5.1 million cap charge.

The Texans willingly took this deal on, despite Johnson having rushed for 1,308 yards and nine touchdowns over the past three years, doing so on 3.6 yards per carry.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a more embarrassing, overmatched offseason from a general manager.

O’Brien and the Texans clearly would have been better off retaining Hopkins — regardless of his want for an extension — signing Reader and building up one of the league’s worst defenses.

Instead, Houston got older and more injury-prone at receiver (Cooks has endured five concussions while Hopkins has missed two games his entire career) while doing nothing noticeable to fortify its defense.

Oh, and the Texans don’t have a first-round pick until 2022.

Time for O’Brien to announce this is the world’s worst joke.