As expected, Andre Johnson returned to the Texans for OTAs on Thursday, ending his brief contract holdout.

Really, it wasn’t a holdout because the workouts are voluntary. He wanted to make a point that he’s underpaid (which he is) and now he’s ready to go back to work. Johnson is the ultimate professional and wouldn’t do anything to hurt his teammates, so it’s not surprising that he returned to practice after only missing a few days.

That said, the Texans still have a problem on their hands. Johnson is the best receiver in the league and despite the fact that he has five years remaining on his current contract, he’s vastly underpaid given what other wideouts are making around the league. He signed a team-friendly deal in 2007 and it would be wise for the Texans to give him a raise. Maybe they’ll wait until after the season to actually re-work his contract, but Johnson is showing good faith by showing up for workouts and the Texans should repay him by letting him know that they’re working on a new deal.

If they don’t, things could get much uglier in the future.

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