Written by Diana Rossini, Amos Morrall III, and Adam Coleman

The Houston Texans have agreed to a three-year contract extension with wide receiver Neco Collins that will pay him $24 million annually, league sources said.

Collins is coming off a career season in which he became the fourth player in franchise history to reach 1,000 receiving yards — joining Brandin Cooks, DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson. He recorded 1,297 yards on 80 catches with eight touchdowns.

Collins’ first chance to work in free agency was next year, but the Texans locked him up with a huge pay raise.

The Texans selected Collins in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He caught 70 passes for 927 yards and three touchdowns in his first two seasons in Houston.

In 2023, the arrival of first-year coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback CJ Stroud led to a boom in Collins’ production as he saw 109 targets and averaged a career-high 86.5 yards per game last season.

Why it’s a smart move for Houston

The Texans have been busy this offseason but this may be one of their smarter moves. Collins took a big leap in 2023, playing and producing as a top-10 wide receiver while creating one of the best QB-WR duos in the league with Stroud, the Rookie of the Year.

More than anything, Houston is removing some risk with this extension. If the Michigan product and four-year pro has another season in 2024 like he did in 2023, retaining him could be difficult in a potentially lucrative market for a loaded WR free agent class in 2025.

All Collins needs is health and consistency. He never played a full season during his three years in the league, and his production in his first two years is starkly different than last year, though that can partly be blamed on playing on bad Texans teams amid the rebuilding process.

The Texans are betting that Collins has it all together and is ready for NFL stardom. – Adam Coleman, NFL editor

Required reading

(Photo: Ryan Kang/Getty Images)