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Monday’s flurry of free agent signings across the league was interrupted by a trade between two playoff teams.
The Houston Texans agreed to send five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders for a package of draft selections in the 2025 and 2026 NFL drafts.
That move provides Washington a proven player at left tackle to protect Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels for the foreseeable future. Tunsil has two years left on the three-year extension he signed with the Texans in 2023 and gives the team time to evaluate whether or not to give him another extension.
The No. 13 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2016 NFL draft has now been traded twice in his career. The first trade came ahead of the 2019 season when Miami sent him to Houston for a package which included two first-round picks.
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Houston receives four draft picks in all for trading away their top offensive lineman: a third- and seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft and a second- and fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Houston also sent a fourth-round selection in the 2025 NFL draft to the Commanders as part of the deal.
Here are our grades for each team in the trade:
Commanders trade grade: A
Daniels was a historically good rookie quarterback in 2024 and looks to be a franchise cornerstone for the future. Armed with more cap space than all but a couple of teams this offseason, the franchise set out to build up the infrastructure around him. They traded for former All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel and, after losing out on top free agent tackle Ronnie Stanley after he signed an extension with Baltimore, they traded for Tunsil, a Pro Bowl tackle entering his age-31 season.
Tunsil’s missed just three games in the last three seasons and, if he remains healthy, can realistically start for another five or six years. This takes pressure off the franchise to get 2024 third-round pick Brandon Coleman up to speed at left tackle sooner than later. Daniels is entering Year 2 of his rookie contract and Washington is maximizing the savings they get from it.
This does mean the Commanders have just two selections in the first 100 picks in the 2025 NFL draft and will be candidates to trade down and recoup more draft capital this April. They look to have the most important position secured with Daniels at quarterback but that doesn’t undermine the importance of building up the roster with young talent around him.
Tunsil will be the fifth-highest paid tackle in the NFL this season and will cost the Commanders $21.35 million against the salary cap in 2025 and 2026, per OverTheCap. If he does not work out in 2025, the team can cut him prior to June 1 next offseason with no dead money owed on his contract. This is not a deal that will cripple the team financially long-term. Any regret will likely stem from overspending on draft capital for the next two years.
Texans trade grade: C+
It’s hard for the Texans’ outlook to be rosy considering they had one of the worst offensive lines in the league last season and Tunsil was their best player in the group. He was a proven starter with value who gave up just two sacks in 2024, per Pro Football Focus.
Bringing in a new offensive coordinator in Nick Caley (previously with the Los Angeles Rams) may solve some of those protection issues at a systemic level but they’re currently slated to have 2024 second-round pick Blake Fisher start at left tackle this coming season. Pro Football Focus rated Fisher 79th out of 81 qualifying tackles in the NFL as a rookie last season. That’s not a good sign for franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud‘s blind side.
The draft capital Houston gets in return for trading Tunsil means they have four top-100 selections in the 2025 NFL draft. This year’s crop of talent is thin for starting tackle options but offers lots of potential day one starters on the interior. Houston may have to trade up for one of the few top tackle options in the class given this new need and that could cost some of the picks they received from Washington.
They may opt to sign a stopgap option for 2025 and try for a long-term left tackle in the draft in 2026 with some of the draft picks they received from Washington. This could keep offensive line as a glaring concern for yet another year which is not ideal in a very competitive AFC.
By going the rookie or bargain veteran route for replacing the expensive Tunsil, the Texans do free up some flexibility with the salary cap for a future extension for Stroud. It’s not all bad but it’s a definitive step back for a team with question marks in front of their young standout quarterback.