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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Texans traded away two first-round picks to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil last year, so they obviously want to keep him in the fold for the long term.
Toward that end, the Texans and Tunsil’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, had preliminary discussions about a new contract this week at the Scouting Combine, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Tunsil would like a contract that exceeds the four-year, $72 million deal that tackle Lane Johnson got from the Eagles. He has one year left on his current contract, with a $10.35 million salary.
The Texans were pleased with Tunsil’s play in his first year in Houston. He’s just 25 years old, so they believe he can be an important part of keeping quarterback Deshaun Watson upright for years to come. Texans coach and General Manager Bill O’Brien emphasized Tunsil, Watson and linebacker Zach Cunningham as players the Texans would like to lock up for the long run.
“Watson, Tunsil, Cunningham, I would say the sooner we can get some of those deals done the better,” O’Brien said. “We want those guys on the football team for a long time. That’s the way I feel about it. Deshaun Watson, we want him here in Houston for his whole career. I love Deshaun Watson, everything that he’s about. I would say Laremy and Zach, all those guys, anytime you can solidify your team earlier in someone’s contract, that can be a good thing for your football team. We’re working through all those different things daily.”
The Texans are projected to have more than $60 million in cap space for 2020, so they should be able to get those high-priority contracts done.