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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
The Houston Texans and wide receiver Nico Collins have agreed to a three-year, $72.75 million extension that includes $52 million guaranteed, agents Drew Rosenhaus, Ryan Matha and Jason Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
The contract has a maximum value of $75 million.
Collins, 25, is coming off a career-best season in which he had 80 receptions (ranked 23rd in the NFL last season) for 1,297 yards (ranked 8th) and eight touchdowns (tied for 8th) in 15 games.
Collins, selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. In three seasons, the former Michigan standout has 150 catches for 2,224 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The extension comes after Houston bolstered its receiver room when it traded a 2025 second-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for wide receiver Stefon Diggs and two draft picks in early April. Diggs is set to be a free agent following this season after the Texans voided the final three years on his contract while giving him a $3.5 million raise, increasing his 2024 base salary to $22.52 million.
Extending Collins gives the Texans two receivers they view as dynamic playmakers who are under contract past the 2024 season: 2023 third-rounder Tank Dell and Collins. Dell finished last season with 709 yards as a rookie but was on pace for 1,205 yards before suffering a broken leg against the Denver Broncos in early December.
Dell is healthy and participated in Texans OTAs after he was shot at a private event in Sanford, Florida, where authorities say a teenage gunman injured 10 people after an altercation on April 28.
“We want to put defenses in binds, and I think with those three guys it allows us to do that because they are so different, and they can all do different things,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “But at the end of the day, they are all explosive finishers with the football, and that is what makes those guys great players. They can win on third down and they can finish and get in the end zone, and that’s what we look for at all skill positions on offense.”
