INDIANAPOLIS -- Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio knows the value of having a top-tier receiver on the roster.
He also knows that Nico Collins still has one more year remaining on his rookie contract.
During his media session Wednesday, Caserio said that extension talks could start before the regular season, but immediate attention is on adding free agents hitting the market.
"Right now we'll focus on the players who are free agents and then once we get through free agency and get a little deeper into the spring, we'll kind of see where we are relative to what our opportunities bring," said Caserio. "You've all seen our openness to a propensity to have discussions at any point, spring, training camp, during the season, mid-season, after the season so we'll see how it all goes."
Extending Collins before the start of the season would be beneficial for both sides after winning the division for the first time in four years. For Collins, he be paid for his efforts in 2023 and would be expected to live up to the name as WR1.
For Houston, it potentially saves cash. Collins could garner over $25 million annually next offseason with another 1,200-plus yard season.
The Texans, who currently have over $67.4 million in cap space could give the wrong impression to Collins' people if they were to sign another high-profile option this offseason, thus raising the price internally.
Collins, who became the third player in franchise history to total over 1,200 yards in a single season, has been open to the idea of extension talks after building a promising relationship with Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud.
"I feel like that’s what everybody works for," Collins told KPRC2 earlier this month. "I’m just going to let it come to me, whatever they decide, whatever they want to do. I’m going to let it ride. Me, I’m going to continue to get better and work on my game. If they want to negotiate, we can.”
The Texans are exploring options to elevate the pass-catching room. Despite Stroud's record-breaking season, Houston struggled to find a consistent No. 2 option after Tank Dell's season-ending leg injury.
Collins missed two games due to injury. Robert Woods and Noah Brown also missed two games with the latter landing on the injured reserve.
Caserio might not be looking to spend big on names like Mike Evans, Michael Pittman Jr., Hollywood Brown, or Calvin Ridley. He could pivot towards bringing in highly productive but less expensive names like Tyler Boyd, Curtis Samuel, D.J. Chark and Josh Reynolds, among others.
The draft also provides options. Houston has been linked to several pass-catchers, including LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. and Oregon's Troy Franklin. Outside of the first round, prospects like Western Ketucky's Malachi Corely and North Carolina's Tez Walker could be options to compete for starting reps at the No. 3 position.
Caserio should have an inside track on some players after meeting with them at the Senior Bowl last month in Mobile, Alabama. He came away impressed with the talent that headed down south, calling it "one of the better collections of talent top to bottom" in recent years.
On-field evaluation is one thing. Internal conversations are another.
"You're just looking more than practice habits," said Caserio. "How they interact. I would say when you're on the field if you're behind a drill, sometimes you'll see me standing behind a drill in practice a lot of times, and looking for communication so who is assertive in the adjustments? Who gets the information out? You're always looking for different things. It's never one thing. It's always good to watch players."
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