Rams' Jalen Ramsey 'Felt Bad' for Deshaun Watson After DeAndre Hopkins Trade

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey said Friday he "felt bad" for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson after the team traded wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason.

Ramsey, a friend of Watson, explained the trade also forced him to mentally prepare for consistent matchups with Hopkins once again. They were budding rivals before the standout corner was traded to L.A. from the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019, and now the rivalry resumes in the NFC West.

"And I was just, mentally I had to get my mind right again, you know what I mean?" Ramsey told reporters. "Those battles are always fun, to be honest with you, whether I felt like I won or lost the matchup."

It's been a frustrating year for Watson and the Texans following the trade of his top target.

They opened the year with a gauntlet of games against Super Bowl contenders in the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. They've also had to face the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns.

Following an 0-4 start, they've gone 4-3 and have won three of the past four.

Just as their offense was starting to pick up some serious steam and thoughts of a late surge into the playoffs began to emerge, wide receiver Will Fuller announced he'd miss the remainder of the 2020 season because of a six-game suspension for a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Fuller had stepped in to help fill the void left by Hopkins, leading Houston in receptions (53), receiving yards (879) and touchdown catches (eight).

Meanwhile, the renewal of the rivalry between Ramsey and Hopkins is one of the main storylines heading into Week 13 as the Rams and Cardinals meet for the first time in 2020.

Ramsey and Hopkins faced off seven times during their time with the Jags and Texans in the AFC South, and they tended to get pretty physical as the games wore on after going head-to-head in man coverage all day.

"I'm looking forward to going against him," Hopkins told reporters. "He's a great football player."

It's an important game in the NFC playoff race with both L.A. (7-4) and Arizona (6-5) trying to secure one of the seven postseason berths. The Seattle Seahawks lead the division at 8-3, so that's still within reason for both teams, too.

The Rams and Cardinals are scheduled for a 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday, and they'll face off again in Week 17 to close out the regular season.