Report: Texans to pick up Watson's 5th-year option

The Houston Texans are expected to exercise the fifth-year option in quarterback Deshaun Watson's rookie contract, a source told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

With the Texans and Watson reportedly engaged in preliminary talks about a big-money extension, the move to pick up the 2021 option has been widely viewed as a formality.

Watson is projected to earn around $17.3 million in 2021 if a new contract isn't agreed upon.

NFL teams have until May 4 to decide whether to pick up options on 2017 first-round picks.

Whenever he signs his next deal, the 24-year-old Watson is likely to challenge for a place among the league's highest-paid quarterbacks after receiving back-to-back Pro Bowl nods in his first two seasons as Houston's full-time starter.

The signal-caller will lead a new-look Texans offense in 2020 after the blockbuster trade of star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals and the additions of wideouts Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb.

Copyright (C) 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.