Texans to exercise the fifth-year option on Deshaun Watson and continue to work on an extension

The Houston Texans will pick up Deshaun Watson's fifth-year option but they will continue to work on landing a long-term contract with their signal-caller.

Houston, Texas- The Houston Texans have started their preliminary talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson's representatives on a long term extension. Until that situation is resolved, the Texans will be picking up Watson's 5th-year option on his rookie contract which is worth $17.3 million. 

Watson's rookie deal netted him $3.8 million in 2019. He is currently set to make $4.4 million for the 2020 season.

The Texans have made it clear they are committed to Watson and keeping him with the franchise for the near future. 

Last week, the Texans locked up his left tackle Laremy Tunisl to a three-year extension helping solidify the offensive line for Watson. 

During the draft, O'Brien was asked about the Texans' plan on Watson and if signing him to a revised contract before the start of the season was their plan. 

The Texans have until May 4th to exercise Watson's option but they are not waiting for that deadline. 

"I think any time we can try to get something done with Deshaun would be great," O'Brien explained. "These things take time. I don't want to get into all the details of it. I know there's a lot out there about where we are. We have a great relationship with Deshaun, we have a great relationship with his agent. Very good open lines of communication. Really haven't gotten into the details of anything right now, but obviously we want Deshaun Watson to be the quarterback here for a long time, so we'll see how it all plays out.”

In 38 games over his first three NFL seasons, Watson threw for 9,716 yards, 71 touchdowns, and 29 interceptions. He has also rushed for 14 touchdowns. Watson tore his ACL his rookie season ending his promising start to his career early. 

You can follow Patrick for Houston Texans Updates in the following places.

Twitter: Here | Site Twitter: Here | Site Facebook: Here

You can Subscribe to the State of the Texans Podcast on the following platforms.

iTunes: Here | Soundcloud: Here | Google Play: Here | Stitcher: Here