The 2023 season was a breakout year for Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins. Now the team is rewarding him with a significant contract extension that is going to pay him like the star he has become.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that the Texans have signed Collins to a three-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $72.75 million and includes $52 million in guarantees.
Collins caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024, all career highs.
Prior to 2023, Collins had played in just 24 games, catching 70 passes for 927 yards and three touchdowns. He eclipsed all of those numbers in just one season with C.J. Stroud as his quarterback.
The commitment to Collins is significant for both him and the Texans, but it also might create some questions for the future of one of their big offseason acquisitions — Stefon Diggs. The Texans acquired Diggs this offseason and reworked his contract to allow him to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. It is unlikely the Texans will be able to commit to both Collins and Diggs long-term. With Collins now signed long-term it only increases the possibility that Diggs could be just a temporary fit in Houston.
It could still produce a special result this season as the Texans offense looks loaded on paper with Stroud having Diggs, Collins, Tank Dell, Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce and Dalton Schultz as skill-position players around him. After winning 10 games and a playoff game in 2023, the sky would seem to be the limit this season, and they are expected to enter the season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.
