If there were ever a way the Houston Texans could win a trade, it would be by sending Laremy Tunsil to Cincinnati.
Houston Texans fans have wanted the rebuild, and with Lovie Smith guiding that said rebuild, one of the ways he could flip the team’s outlook is by trading left tackle Laremy Tunsil. It’s well known what Houston gave up to get Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins in the trade they agreed upon.
However, the NFL is all about getting the max return for your investments. It’s what Bill Belichick did for so many years- releasing/trading big-name players a year or two before their contracts were up.
The Bengals lost Super Bowl LVI due to an inability to protect Joe Burrow and move human-wrecking ball Aaron Donald of the L.A. Rams. Giving up seven sacks in the biggest game of the year only makes the ultimate goal that much harder to achieve.
A true Houston Texans rebuild means getting the draft capital to improve the team.
Trading Tunsil from Cincinnati’s standpoint wouldn’t hurt them that much. With $55M in cap space, trading Tunsil would be like a whisper on a scream- only taking about $6M away according to SpoTrac. For Houston, SpoTrac is calculating only a $1M loss in space. This is a huge win-win for both teams.
Trae Waynes was included in this proposal as it’s unlikely that Cincinnati would let Mike Hilton or Eli Apple go in a trade, and the same can be said for Safety Jessie Bates. There is a ton of offensive line talent in the draft, and this proposal would open the door for Evan Neal to be the choice at the third overall pick.
Nick Caserio should explore this win-win of a trade, so the next era of Houston Texans football has a chance to learn, grow, and succeed.