The Texans traded for Brandin Cooks after trading DeAndre Hopkins. While Hopkins received a mega contract extension from the Cardinals on Tuesday, the Texans learned they made need a backup plan for Cooks for their season opener.

Two days before their game against the Chiefs, the Texans report Cooks did not practice. It raises a question about Cooks’ availability for Thursday.

The Texans will have Will Fuller, Randall Cobb and Kenny Stills as their top three receivers if Cooks can’t go. Cooks was limited on Monday with the quad injury.

The Cardinals are making star WR DeAndre Hopkins the highest paid non-QB ever, giving him a 2-year contract extension worth $54.5M in new money -- $27.25M per year. Hopkins, who did the deal himself, gets $42.75M guaranteed at signing.

With the move to Arizona, Hopkins' value stays relatively unchanged, possibly taking a small hit due to changing teams and a small downgrade at quarterback. On the bright side, the Cardinals try to play at a fast pace and as the offense improves, they should increase the total number of plays (22nd last year with 1,000), assuming the offense is able to stay on the field more often in 2020.

There are three good wideouts ahead of Andy Isabella, but Kingsbury wants to give the speedster more playing time in 2020. “I have to do a better job of expanding his role and finding ways to get him on the field and get him utilized."

Related players: DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald

Isabella could be a late-round option for owners, perhaps especially in deeper leagues. It's going to be tough for Isabella to get on the field in three WR sets with Hopkins, Fitzgerald and Kirk around, but it sounds like the Cards want to see Isabella on the field more this season which means they could use more four WR sets.

Jordan Akins: By NFL standards, the 28-year-old Akins, a former pro baseball player, isn’t that young, but he is entering just his third pro season and has been a productive red-zone target during practices. Whether he keeps this up will be important, as Darren Fells seems due for some regression after a season in which he caught seven touchdowns, more than doubling his previous season high.

Akins saw 140 snaps out of the slot last season, and though Cobb will absorb most of DeAndre Hopkins’ workload from that spot, Akins could experience an uptick in usage here, too, if his practice production carries over to games.

There are reasons to believe Akins may make a leap in his third year. He led all Houston tight ends in routes run (390) and ran the 10th most routes among all tight ends last year. Given his snap rate (61%), it’s an indicator that the team views him mainly as a receiver. He was fourth among tight ends in yards after the catch per reception and third among tight ends in average YAC above expectations, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats. With the loss of DeAndre Hopkins, Akins should play a larger role in the passing game, especially with Darren Fells another year older. Akins could see competition from second-year player Kahale Warring, but after a lost-rookie season it’s doubtful that he’ll be able to eat into Akins’ snaps.

Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins has been dealing with a minor hamstring injury but returned to practice on Wednesday.

There was even speculation that Hopkins was not actually hurt and was just disgruntled about his contract situation. Those rumors can be put to bed with Hopkins dressed for practice on Wednesday. Hopkins will be hard-pressed to repeat his elite fantasy performances from Houston in 2020 due to volume concerns, but he still has substantial upside playing in Kliff Kingsbury's offense and can be drafted as a WR1 in the second round.

HC Kliff Kingsburg on WR Christian Kirk:

"I see the production and I see the potential to go through the roof," coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Kirk ahead of training camp.

Related players: DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald

Last year, Kirk became the second-quickest player in franchise history to hit 100 career receptions, doing so in his 22nd game. He finished the season with 709 yards receiving, second on the team only to Larry Fitzgerald's 804. Kirk has missed some time in each of his first two seasons with injuries (four games in 2018, and three games in 2019), so he spent the early part of the offseason focused on that. He'll play a WR2 role behind Hopkins but with Fitz likely in the slot, Kirk has a chance to produce this season in what should be a high-powered offense.