After seven seasons in Houston, the Texans made the stunning decision to trade Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and a couple of draft picks. It’s a move that the Texans would come to regret – Johnson was off the team after two middling seasons, one draft pick was traded away and another didn’t pan out.

Both parts of that statement changed this season. After Hopkins got traded to the Kansas City Chiefs and finally experienced some winning — he was a part of two playoff wins in his first 11 seasons then doubled that total with the Chiefs last month — it came as he was practically a ghost in the offense.

Hopkins pulled himself out of a 34-10 loss to the Bills on Oct. 20 — sensing that Tennessee’s season was careening toward the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft — and was traded within days.