Did Bill O'Brien compare DeAndre Hopkins to Aaron Hernandez in meeting?

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The Texans' reported trade of DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals was a shocker.

Why would Houston give up its superstar wide receiver for a declining running back and two (non-first-round) draft picks?

Michael Irvin hinted at part of the reason Wednesday morning, and it's quite the eye-opener.

During an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up!", the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver shared what Hopkins told him about Texans coach Bill O'Brien.

"He said, 'Michael, it was a bit of a power struggle there because Coach O’Brien thought he had too much influence over the locker room,' " Irvin said. "(Hopkins) called DeAndre Hopkins in a meeting to talk about this, and kind of hash it out."

That's when O'Brien apparently made a very unflattering comparison. Via Irvin:

"He told DeAndre Hopkins, 'The last time I had to have a meeting like this, it was with Aaron Hernandez.'

"I was like, ‘What, he put in Aaron Hernandez in this meeting?’ (Hopkins) said, 'Yes he did. ... That blew my mind that he would even bring that up. I’ve never been in any trouble. I don’t know why he would even equate me with Aaron Hernandez.' "

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O'Brien was Hernandez's quarterbacks coach (2010) and offensive coordinator (2011) for two seasons with the New England Patriots. But it's a wild stretch to compare Hopkins with the troubled tight end, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2015 and committed suicide from his prison cell in 2017.

According to Irvin, O'Brien also told Hopkins he didn't like how the wide receiver had children with multiple women.

"He told DeAndre that he doesn’t like that he has his baby mamas around sometimes," Irvin said. "And from there I think the relationship just went bad."

We only have Hopkins' side of the story, but it certainly appears the wide receiver and his head coach had a fractured relationship that may have led to Houston parting ways with one of the NFL's most talented players.

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