DeAndre Hopkins not at Texans camp, displeased over his contract

The Houston Texans’ two best players are not participating in training camp now.

One is the injured J.J. Watt, who is out indefinitely. The other is DeAndre Hopkins, who apparently didn’t report to camp after it appeared initially that he arrived and then left, per ESPN.com.

A day after Texans GM Rick Smith received a contract extension, his job just got harder. Hopkins watched his GM get paid, and now he wants to as well.

All offseason, the Texans have been aware of Hopkins, 24, being interested in ripping up his rookie contract and working on a new one. But it has been Smith’s and the Texans’ policy in years past to redo deals when there is a year left, and — even for a star player — changing those precedents can create tough conflicts for future deals.

Hopkins’ base salary of $1 million is clearly chump change commensurate with his value. But the Texans know they have him locked up for this season and next, with 2017 coming under the fifth-year option price of $7.9 million. That’s less than $9 million for two seasons, which is likely less than what he might seek as an annual rate for any future deal Hopkins signs.

Thirteen NFL receivers have an APY north of $10 million, with Cincinnati Bengals receiver A.J. Green setting the highwater mark at $15 million per year.

By not reporting, Hopkins is subject to daily fines of $40,000, and the team could come after his signing bonus if it wants to get extreme. But these fines often get waived as an exchange to return.

We’ll see where Hopkins’ mindset is. With the Texans having a new quarterback in Brock Osweiler, an injured star in Watt and a GM who is now in prove-it mode with his new contract, Hopkins is trying to strike while the iron is hot — even if the Texans might disagree with the timing of it all.