Analyst on purported contract extension for Texans' Tunsil: 'He has negotiated his way to being the highest paid left tackle twice'

The Houston Texans have reportedly awarded offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil a contract extension.

The transaction – a three-year $75 million extension – gives the 28-year-old Tunsil the distinction of being the National Football League’s (NFL) highest paid player in the trenches, per a report from ESPN.

“Laremy Tunsil represents himself and has negotiated his way to being the highest paid left tackle twice,” analyst and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin, III said in a tweet. “Players can take control of their negotiations and reset the market without an agent.”

ESPN reported that the deal consists of a $30 million signing bonus in addition to a fully guaranteed $50 million and $60 million in total guarantees.

Tunsil, a seven-year veteran who played his college ball at Ole Miss, joined the Texans in 2019 via a trade with the Miami Dolphins and was signed to a three-year, $66 million contract extension with $57.85 million guaranteed in the offseason that preceded the 2020 campaign.

Per ESPN, the former 2016 first-rounder secured his latest extension after a season that saw him earn his third overall Pro Bowl selection.

According to an article on the NFL’s website, Tunsil, who has started in all 94 games of his professional career, was the subject of trade chatter at the start of the league’s 2023 free agency period. 

His signing and the Texans’ acquisition of veteran guard Shaq Mason from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers purportedly show the direction Houston is heading in regard to the second pick in next month’s draft. 

With the Carolina Panthers now the owners of the top pick, the Texans are believed to have a field general in their sights. 

Houston could select the University of Alabama’s Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud from Ohio State University.