Hopkins denies rift with Texans after alleged Aaron Hernandez comparison
DeAndre Hopkins has moved to play down extraordinary rumours swirling around his trade from the Houston Texans to Arizona Cardinals.
Hopkins was traded from Houston to Arizona earlier this week. It was a move that mystified fans, players and pundits as Houston received little in return for one of the best wide receivers in the NFL.
On Wednesday hall of fame receiver Michael Irvin told ESPN he had spoken to Hopkins and that the player’s relationship with the Texans head coach, Bill O’Brien, had deteriorated after the latter made derogatory remarks. Irvin claimed O’Brien had compared Hopkins’s situation to one he had had with Aaron Hernandez at the New England Patriots. Hernandez killed himself in prison in 2017 after being convicted of murder.
“DeAndre told me this,” Irvin said. “[O’Brien] told DeAndre Hopkins, ‘Hey, the last time I had to have a meeting like this, it was with Aaron Hernandez.’ ... [Hopkins] said, ‘Michael, that blew my mind that he would ever bring that up. I’ve never been in any trouble. I don’t know why he would equate me with Aaron Hernandez.’”
Irvin said O’Brien had also raised the fact that Hopkins has children with different women. “[O’Brien] got into talking about DeAndre Hopkins – [he] has a few kids from different women. [O’Brien] told DeAndre that he doesn’t like that he has his baby mamas around sometimes. And from there, the relationship just went bad and thus we got a trade of DeAndre Hopkins from Houston for basically, like I said earlier, a ham sandwich, all because of that relationship.”
This is being blown way out of proportion. As I’ve said before, I enjoyed and am proud of my time with the Texans. I have the utmost respect for Coach O’Brien and that will not change. Now, I’m ready to play for the Cardinals.
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) March 18, 2020
Later on Wednesday, Hopkins said he had “respect” for O’Brien although he did not directly deny Irvin’s story. “This is being blown way out of proportion,” Hopkins wrote on Twitter. “As I’ve said before, I enjoyed and am proud of my time with the Texans. I have the utmost respect for Coach O’Brien and that will not change. Now, I’m ready to play for the Cardinals.”
ESPN reported that their sources said O’Brien’s comments were not the cause of the trade but rather that the Texans were unwilling to meet Hopkins’s salary demands.
