There’s a reason the Texans are looking for a quarterback this offseason — as they have, really, since the organization was founded.
As they did when they found Andre Johnson in 2003, they’ve got a star wide receiver in his prime who wants to hang around.
“If I can play my whole career here, I would,” DeAndre Hopkins said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I love this place. This organization took a chance on drafting me. You have to look at that.”
Of course, he’s also in position to cash in with a lucrative contract extension, so there’s no reason to rock the boat. The Texans have tried to be proactive about locking up young stars, with recent extensions for J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus.
Hopkins is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal, one which they can easily extend with the fifth-year option. That’s a no-brainer, though they might not let it get to that point. Rewarding him for last season (11 receptions, 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns) is reason enough, but there’s also the element of keeping him happy. He recently switched to CAA to negotiate his contract, and they’ve been responsible for recent deals for Julio Jones, Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, all of whom got around five years for $70 million.
But he also professed his love for Houston, and said he didn’t want to leave.
“I love this place,” he said. “I love this organization. I love the fans here. I’ll never forget after we went 2-14 (in 2013), I don’t recall too many fans bailing out on us. It speaks a lot about this city and who they are.”
Of course, finding an upgrade from Brian Hoyer would help. Johnson always played nice, but admitted upon leaving for Indianapolis that playing with Andrew Luck was a huge draw for a guy who existed with journeymen or worse.