Houston Texans defensive tackle Maliek Collins received a nice payday coming off a career-best season. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Texans are keeping Maliek Collins. On Tuesday, the defensive tackle agreed to return on a two-year deal worth $17M (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Collins, a three-technique tackle, emerged as a key contributor in Lovie Smith‘s defense last year. The two sides were said to have mutual interest and, as expected, they’ve hashed out a deal in advance of the official start to free agency.

The Texans snagged Collins on a one-year, $5M deal last year. This time around, they were willing to go significantly higher. At one point in time, Collins seemed like a lost cause. However, he’s clearly bounced back from his iffy Raiders run.

Last year, Collins notched a career-high 29 tackles with nine tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks.

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