Texans LT Laremy Tunsil tells ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime that he wants to become the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackle this offseason.
49ers LT Trent Williams has set the bar at $23 million a year and he pushed it ahead of Tunsil who makes $22 million a year right now.
“I don’t know who’s the highest right now, maybe Trent at $23 [million], but I want to top that,” Tunsil said. “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 will be entering the final year of his deal this offseason and will be up for an extension. He was just named to the Pro Bowl this season.
Houston held onto Tunsil at the trade deadline this past season and they have precious few building block players, so it would seem like there’s a good chance the Texans will be willing to meet Tunsil’s contract request. But contracts like these are inherently risky and some NFL GMs have lower risk tolerance.
Tunsil, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Dolphins back in 2016. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $12,457,650 rookie contract and set to make a base salary of $2,148,771 for the 2019 season when the Dolphins picked up his fifth-year option.
The Dolphins traded Tunsil to the Texans in 2019 and he later agreed to a three-year, $66 million contract with Houston that included $50 million guaranteed. Tunsil is set to make a base salary of $18.5 million next season.
In 2022, Tunsil has appeared in 15 games for the Texans and made 15 starts for them at left tackle. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 12 tackle out of 81 qualifying players.
We’ll have more on Tunsil as the news is available.
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