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.