If there was any moment that showed the Washington Commanders were “all in” on making a run at the Super Bowl in 2025, it was when they pulled off a massive trade to land an elite offensive tackle to protect the blind side of quarterback Jayden Daniels.
When they made that deal, it might as well have been a bat signal to the rest of the league they meant business just by the player they got in the trade, getting left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and a 2025 fourth round pick from the Houston Texans in exchnge for a 2026 second round pick, 2026 fourth round pick, 2025 third round pick and 2025 seventh round pick.
That’s quite a haul for even a player as talented as Tunsil, a 5-time Pro Bowler, but it appears to be paying off after NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent announced Tunsil was on the list of frontrunners for the NFL’s first Protector of the Year Award, which will be given to the league’s best offensive lineman from the 2025 season.
Tunsil is one of just 3 offensive tackles to rank in the Top 10 in pass block win rate and run block win rate alongside fellow front runners in Denver Broncos left offensive tackle Garrett Bolles and Philadelphia Eagles left offensive tackle Lane Johnson.
Other front runners to make Vincent’s list were Kansas City Chiefs left offensive tackle Josh Simmons, Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney, Los Angeles Rams guard Justin Dedich, Chiefs center Creed Humphrey, Cleveland Browns center Ethan Pocic and Atlanta Falcons center Ryan Neuzil.
Tunsil One of NFL’s Highest Paid Players
Tunsil, 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, has been a dominant force in the NFL since the Miami Dolphins took him with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He’s currently ranked 10th out of 112 eligible players at his position with a 77.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
He’s also been one of its highest paid players at his position for most of his career.
It will cost the Commanders $42.7 million over the final 2 years of his contract in 2025 and 2026, which will bring Tunsil’s career earnings to approximately $163.8 million in career earnings.
Not everyone was a fan of the Commanders making the move to get him.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Tunsil on his list of the NFL’s “Most Overpaid Players” ahead of the 2025 season.
“This is a little complicated because Tunsil can at times be dominant and has a strong resume that includes five Pro Bowls,” Gagnon wrote on September 1. And because the Houston Texans are still picking up much of the tab on a contract they handed to him in 2023, his deal isn’t too unfriendly to Washington … at 31 years old he may have lost a step, and the ridiculous 19 penalties he took in 2024 may be evidence of that.”
Tunsil Still Regarded as One of NFL’s Elite
NFL executives, coaches and scouts put Tunsil at No. 7 on ESPN’s list of the Top 10 NFL offensive tackles in their annual preseason position rankings.
“Tunsil has long performed like a top-five tackle on our list, but miscues and the Texans’ offensive line struggles hurt his case this time around,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 13. “He has three consecutive seasons of committing at least 10 penalties, including 19 in 2024 … Evaluators still love his combination of footwork, agility and violence — and so did the Washington Commanders.”
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