The Houston Texans’ future is undeniably bright coming off a 2023 season in which they won their division, earned their first playoff victory in four years and showcased an offense featuring one of the league’s best young quarterbacks in C.J. Stroud.

That tantalizing future now comes with a little extra security when it comes to Stroud’s favorite target.

Wide receiver Nico Collins, a former Michigan standout and Houston’s top pass-catcher last season, has signed a three-year extension with the franchise worth $72.75 million, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

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The 25-year-old Collins enjoyed a breakthrough 2023 season, his third in the NFL. He caught a career-high 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns for the Texans, who went 10-7 and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs before losing the following week to the Baltimore Ravens and 2023 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

Collins’ reception, touchdown and yardage totals in 2023 surpassed the combined marks from his first two professional seasons. A third-round selection by the Texans in the 2021 NFL Draft, Collins was set to be an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming 2024 season.

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Collins played three seasons for Michigan, from 2017-19, catching 78 passes for 1,388 yards and 13 touchdowns in that time. The Birmingham, Alabama native was a two-time all-Big Ten honoree. He opted out of the pandemic-altered 2020 season, describing his choice as a “business decision.”

“Everything was going smooth, just how I planned, until this virus outbreak," Collins said in October 2020. "The one thing that really impacted my decision was when we were supposed to play, our set date was Sept. 5 against Purdue, during that camp process, they canceled the season. That was heartbreaking for me because I wasn’t sure when the next time (we would play). They were saying in the spring, Thanksgiving, there were too many unknown questions to be answering. Nobody really had an answer.”

Collins will have some additional help this season in Houston after the Texans acquired former All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills in a blockbuster trade in April.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Nico Collins signs three-year, $72 million extension with Texans