Bill O'Brien is known to covet "tough, smart and dependable" players, regardless if their stars like this one.
Hopkins is one of those players.
His teammates seemed bewildered to find out he was traded earlier this week to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson, a second-round pick and a fourth-round swap.
No one has a bad thing to say about Hopkins.
The purpose of this meeting, according to Irvin's account of his own conversation with Hopkins, was to clear the air from a power struggle related to Hopkins' influence in the locker room.
That's especially true if the players themselves view the influence to be positive.
Cecil Shorts III was Hopkins' teammate with the Texans in 2015.
He joined Clint to discuss what Hopkins was like as a teammate.
Shorts said his own relationship with O'Brien was professional without issues. Shorts said he never witnessed a blow-up between O'Brien and Hopkins, though the coach did feud with other players on the team.
"Talk about a professional. He's a guy that's loved by his players," Shorts said. "We talked about any and everything in that locker room. When he got on the practice field, he was one of the hardest working guys on the field. Couldn't be stopped, no matter what he did. He was that guy. He worked hard. He was big on communication. He was big on timing. He's just a good guy, man.
"When I heard the (Irvin) comments about (the influence in the locker room), that's beyond me, because the influence he had was nothing but incredible from when I was there. It was outstanding."
"I think every ball he thinks is his, and he catches everything," Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians told reporters before his team hosted the Texans last December. "You can have him covered, Deshaun (Watson) is going to throw it and he's going to catch it because he's a physical guy, he knows how to get open and I just love the way he plays the game."
Bills coach said Sean McDermott said Hopkins is basically the definition of his position.
When asked what part of his skill set stands out on tape, McDermott said, "Really all of it. When you when you look up the word ‘receiver’ in the dictionary – I mean, he's got unbelievable hands, unbelievable work with the quarterback, understands the game. He's, like I said, similar to J.J. Watt, to Deshaun Watson, all really good players."
Hopkins reportedly threatened to hold out without a raise, which would've been unlikely given the new collective bargaining agreement's stipulation on not back paying when a player returns from a hold-out.
The fact is one of the most respected players in the NFL was traded for below market value in what was clearly a personal conflict.
It doesn't seem like the tough, smart, or dependable thing to do.