Hours after trading DeAndre Hopkins, Texans agree with WR Randall Cobb on 3-year deal
The Houston Texans have agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Randall Cobb, who will most likely be known by Texans fans as the man who is not DeAndre Hopkins.
NFL Network’s James Jones reported the deal was in place on Monday night.
The #Texans have agreed to terms with WR @rcobb18 on a 3-year $27M deal with $18.75 guaranteed #Texans @nflnetwork
— James Jones (@89JonesNTAF) March 17, 2020
The 29-year-old Cobb is coming off a season with the Cowboys in which he posted 828 receiving yards and three touchdowns, a return to form after some down years that ended his time with the Green Bay Packers.
Cobb is good, but he’s not DeAndre Hopkins
Fair or not, Cobb’s deal will be notable around the league as the first wide receiver brought in to help mitigate the gaping hole left by Hopkins in the Texans passing game.
The Texans made the widely criticized move to trade Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday morning for a second-round pick, a swap of fourth-round picks and running back David Johnson, whose massive contract could be considered a negative asset.
The sentiment around the trade didn’t get much better when the Minnesota Vikings traded wide receiver Stefon Diggs — a strong player who is nowhere near Hopkins’ level — for a massively better package from the Buffalo Bills the same day.
There were also reports of friction between Hopkins and head coach Bill O’Brien, who also happens to be the Texans’ de facto general manager. Of course, most teams would tolerate friction if the player involved has delivered over 4,000 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns over the last three years.
Cobb figures to give Deshaun Watson a reliable slot receiver next season. However, the team is going to need a lot more than that for O’Brien to be able to justify keeping his job as the Texans’ top football decision-maker.
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