Texans ADd OT Laremy Tunsil from Dolphins

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The Texans finally landed their man as they added OT Laremy Tunsil on Saturday in a blockbuster deal

The Houston Texans entered this preseason with one glaring issue; the offensive line.

In 2018 they allowed Deshaun Watson to be sacked an astounding 62 times during the regular season. Considering they allowed 54 the previous year as well, the Texans absolutely had to improve this unit if they had any chance of maximizing Watson’s potential in 2019.

Enter Laremy Tunsil

Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil was traded to the Texans on Saturday alongside wide receiver Kenny Stills in exchange for offensive tackle Julién Davenport and cornerback Johnson Bademosi. If this were the entire trade, it would seem like an unbelievable steal, but of course theres more, much more.

The Dolphins also parted company with a 2020 fourth-round pick, and a 2021 sixth-round pick. In exchange the Texans gave away, get ready for this, a 2020 first-round pick, as well as their 2021 first and second-round picks. That is a lot of capital, but it does secure a priceless position for this Texans offense.

Earlier this preseason they added Tytus Howard and Max Scharping in the first two rounds of the draft respectively. The franchise also went on to add veteran offensive tackle Matt Kalil to the lineup at left tackle, however, he has looked shaky at best this preseason coming off of yet another injury.

This completes the overhaul of the offensive line. If you include offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson as a new addition, given that he only played a part of one game in 2018 for the Texans before going down with a season-ending injury, there may only be one familiar face in the starting line with center Nick Martin slated to remain the starter this season.

Tunsil will add a great deal of proven quality to the lineup, given that he allowed just two sacks in 2018. He’s a brutal and surprisingly athletic blocker for his size, standing at 6-5, 318 pounds. The former Dolphin is an unexpected but required upgrade on Davenport at the position.

Another added bonus is that with the left tackle now nailed down, rookie Howard won’t be pressured to move outside any time soon and can take his time at guard until he’s adjusted to the level enough to potentially move to right tackle.

The Texans will at some point still need to negotiate a contract extension for Tunsil who’s entering the second to last year of his rookie deal.

Further Offensive Additions

The Texans made two further offensive additions along with Tunsil. Stills arrives to provide depth at wide receiver behind Will Fuller and Keke Coutee who have both had injury issues. However, Stills comes with quite a big contract hit over the next two seasons, but some of that can be saved if they cut him prior to next season.


They also traded second-year offensive guard for veteran running back Carlos Hyde. 

After the team lost starting back Lamar Miller to an ACL injury against the Dallas Cowboys in preseason Week 3, they knew they would need another back to share the starting reps with fellow new arrival Duke Johnson.

27-year old Hyde also arrives with just one-year on his current deal, which includes a base salary of just $1,400,000. The former Kansas City Chief arrives after rushing for just 571 yards in 2018, following two consecutive 900+ rushing yard seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

What does this mean for Miami?

Miami appear to have come out of the humiliation of Jadeveon Clowney not wanting to sign for them quite well. Now instead of having a defensive player who needs a big contract arranging, they have unlimited options. They now have four draft picks in the first round in the next two seasons, and a blank slate for this new group of coaches to work with.

Short-term the loss of Tunsil hurts. He is a top-10 left tackle in the league, and his absence will show this year. Josh Rosen is going to perhaps be playing behind an even worse offensive line than he was last year, if he ever wins the starting job. However, the Dolphins are in long-term mode right now and this is a move for the long-term that makes a lot of sense.

2019 will be a rough season in Miami, but the future could look very bright if Miami get it right in the next couple of drafts.

Anthony Wood

NFL ANALYST

REPRESENTING BRITS IN THE US, ANTHONY WILL BE WRITING FOR THE TOUCHDOWN FROM HIS NEW HOME IN TEXAS. WHERE HE ALSO WRITES AND PODCASTS FOR THE TEXANS WIRE. FOLLOW HIM @ARWOODNFL ON TWITTER.

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