Laremy Tunsil is already one of the top three highest-paid left tackles in football.
He wants to move to No. 1.
As the second year of his three-year extension with Houston nears its end, Tunsil is looking toward the future and doesn’t plan on waiting until the end of his current deal to get the money he believes he deserves. He intends to renegotiate the deal he signed in 2020 during the upcoming offseason.
“I don’t know who’s the highest right now, maybe Trent [Williams] at 23 [million], but I want to top that,” Tunsil told ESPN. “Always want to reset the market. Perfect opportunity to reset the market. Everything is lining up as far as my contract to how I’m playing. Everything lining up perfectly.”
Tunsil’s third trip to the Pro Bowl — officially secured with last week’s announcement of the reimagined game’s roster — certainly doesn’t hurt his case. Nor does his PFF grade, which stands as the best of his seven-year career.
“Something that motivated me during the offseason was an article that came out that said I was a very good starter,” Tunsil said. “So that gave me your fuel to just get back to playing football because I did miss 12 games last year because of the thumb injury. But just coming back just to show everybody that I am the best tackle.”
The timing might also provide Tunsil with some leverage. As part of a team that is clearly rebuilding, Tunsil is set to earn a base salary of $18.5 million, but account for $35.2 million of Houston’s cap space in 2023. If he wants to push his average annual value past the $23 million mark, there may be room to kick his massive cap hit down the road with a renegotiation. Houston already converted nearly all of Tunsil’s 2022 compensation from a base salary into a bonus to free up cap space in 2022, indicating the Texans and Tunsil are already aware of his standing from a financial perspective.
Tunsil is also aware of how much Houston could save in effective cap space — $18.5 million — by releasing or trading him, making a long-term deal a priority for the tackle, who is nearing what could be his last chance to significantly cash in during his career.
Houston isn’t necessarily in a position in which it absolutely needs to spend massive amounts of money to secure top talent for the immediate future. But protecting the quarterback — any quarterback, depending on what happens at the position this offseason — remains a high priority for every NFL team. Tunsil is playing at such a level in 2022, and with $46 million in projected space for 2023, the Texans have the room to get it done.
The Texans haven’t played well this season, winning just two games, leaving Tunsil to toil in the NFL shadows. That might hurt his chances of earning an All-Pro nod, but if he secures the first such honor of his career, it will only help him in negotiations.
“Let me honor the Pro Bowl. It feels good to be a Pro Bowl starter, getting voted in from the coaches and players, so I’m blessed to have that opportunity,” Tunsil said. “To [potentially] get an All-Pro nod? Man, I’ve been working my ass off for all seven years just to get acknowledged as an All-Pro. I feel like that’s one of the biggest achievements in the NFL.”
It should also help the Texans plan for the future while knowing they don’t have to worry about left tackle.