HOUSTON -- Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith offered little on the subject of Andre Johnson's contract Wednesday, but it’s still possible the deal is adjusted for the receiver before the season starts.

Johnson has five years remaining on his contract and will make a base salary of $5.8 million in 2010.

He skipped early OTA sessions as a statement about his desire for a new contract, returned quickly when he saw what a commotion it caused and then hired veteran agent Kennard McGuire to represent him.

Smith said he won’t talk about a potential new deal publicly.

“It’s pretty well known that he’s hired Kennard and we’ve been in contact,” Smith said. “So I’ll just leave it there.”

While he won’t put a timetable on things, there is one built-in.

“Our policy’s been that we’ll look at deals and we’ll try to get things done during the offseason,” Smith said. “But once the season starts, our entire focus as an organization goes to football and playing games.

The Texans start the season Sept. 12 against Indianapolis.

Here is a May post detailing Johnson’s contract and negotiating power.

In rookie contract news, Smith and the Texans got a deal done with third-round pick Earl Mitchell, a defensive tackle from Arizona: Adam Schefter reports it’s a four-year, $3.423 million deal.