DeAndre Hopkins Takes Shot at Texans Trade Using His 2020 Stats with Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins threw some shade at his former team Friday. 

Hopkins responded to a tweet highlighting his impressive production during his first season in Arizona with a message clearly directed toward the Houston Texans:

The Texans shocked the football world last offseason when they traded Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Cards for running back David Johnson, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 fourth-round pick.

Hopkins' first season in Arizona was excellent, as he recorded a career-high-tying 115 receptions to go along with 1,407 yards and six touchdowns. Hopkins was named to his fifth career Pro Bowl, and he was also named a second-team All-Pro.

Houston parted ways with Hopkins despite the fact that he had established himself as one of the greatest players in franchise history during his seven-year stint with the team.

In 126 career regular-season games as a Texan, Hopkins recorded 632 catches for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns. He ranks second on the all-time franchise list in all three categories behind only Andre Johnson.

While trading away Hopkins likely wasn't the only reason, the Texans struggled mightily in 2020, going just 4-12. That was their worst record since 2017 and ended their two-year streak of reaching the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals improved from 5-10-1 to 8-8 with Hopkins in the fold, and they seem to be trending toward becoming a playoff team in 2021.

Time will tell if the Texans got enough value for Hopkins, but the early returns weren't good.

They used the second-round pick on defensive lineman Ross Blacklock, who finished with just 14 tackles and no sacks as a rookie.

Meanwhile, Johnson missed four games because of injury and finished with 691 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, as well as 33 receptions for 314 yards and two scores.

On top of all that, franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson now wants out of Houston, and one has to wonder whether keeping Hopkins could have helped persuade him to stay.