Houston Texans gauged offensive tackle market well with Laremy Tunsil’s extension

The Houston Texans and Laremy Tunsil may have both won the offseason with their ability to strike out a beneficial deal for both sides.

The Houston Texans and Laremy Tunsil agreed to a deal that would make the former 13th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft the highest-paid offensive tackle in the league by a big margin. Before Tunsil inked his new deal, the highest-paid offensive tackle was Lane Johnson earning an average of $18 million per year. Tunsil blew that comparison out of the water by earning $4 million more at $22 million per year.

Tunsil signing a three year $66 million was a great deal on both ends as he got handsomely rewarded for protecting the blindside of Deshaun Watson and the offensive tackle market was reset for the other 31 NFL teams.

More from Toro Times

• Houston Texans: Can Sean Payton really be the next head coach?
• Houston Texans Draft: Michael Mayer should be a no doubter at pick 12
• Houston Texans already telling fans the Davis Mills era is over
• Houston Texans have hand forced, waste no time in firing Lovie Smith
• Houston Texans: Pros and Cons of keeping Head Coach Lovie Smith

One of the teams around the league that was directly affected by this deal is the Baltimore Ravens as Ronnie Stanley’s rookie deal is set to expire after this season. Stanley is unarguably the best young tackle in the game with Tunsil slightly trailing him as the runner up. However, if a team wanted to build a franchise and get a left tackle it would probably be 1a and 1b. That’s how good both of them are.

The Houston Texans executed the offensive tackle market beautifully. There was no doubt within anyone in the league that the Texans were going to have to pay up down the road after trading two first-rounders and a second-round pick for a young premier left tackle like Tunsil. Texans were just ahead of the curve and made sure to sign Tunsil before Stanley got the chance to strike a deal with the Ravens.

Stanley has been vocal that he wants to be the highest-paid offensive tackle in the league, and he reiterated on a video conference call with ESPN Staff Writer Jamison Hensley. Now the Ravens, one of the Texans opponents in the AFC, will have to rightfully pay Stanley what he is worth as the best young left tackle in the game. It is in the best of interest for Baltimore to pay Stanley his money to avoid creating any animosity between both sides. As the Texans organization can attest, left tackles don’t grow on trees. Houston was between a rock and hard place after trading Duane Brown to the Seattle Seahawks.

This game is essentially a business and every player wants to get their bag before they hang it up. However, the Texans played a game within a game to do right by Tunsil and make their rivals pay more for a high caliber player at the same position.

To put matters into a better perspective, Tunsil’s deal isn’t that expensive when considering that deal won’t take effect until he plays on his fifth-year option this season. The Texans have Tunsil under contract for four more seasons.

This situation could have gone several other scenarios after the Texans acquired Tunsil, but both sides stuck through it and were able to get something done that benefitted everyone within the organization.

Texans got their left tackle in the future, Tunsil got the money he deserved while negotiating the extension mostly by himself, and Watson will remain protected for the foreseeable future.