Wide receiver Andre Johnson skipped the start of the Texans’ organized team activities on Monday because he’s unhappy with his contract. With five years remaining on his current deal, he may have a tough time convincing Houston to up his pay grade.

Although Larry Fitzgerald certainly has a say in the discussion, Johnson is arguably the best receiver in the NFL. Yet his contract isn’t as lucrative as the one the Dolphins just gave Brandon Marshall or even the one the Cowboys signed the under-performing Roy Williams to a couple of years ago. So while he still has five years remaining on his current deal, there’s no question that Johnson is underpaid given his production value in the NFL.

The problem is that he doesn’t have much leverage. If he were to become a free agent at the end of the year, then the Texans would be more pressed to re-work his deal knowing that he could bolt once the season is over. But with five years remaining on his current contract, all he has is the threat of a holdout. Even though he’s their best player, the Texans could essentially say, “All right, you don’t want to play? Then you won’t get paid.”

Either way, this isn’t how the Texans wanted to kick off OTAs and holdouts can get awfully nasty between the team and the player. And if Johnson doesn’t show up for training camp, then the Texans really have a problem.

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