Pro Football Rumors
Laremy Tunsil has been one of the NFL’s shrewdest negotiators. The Commanders tackle has thrice secured contracts that made him the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman. He did so with the Texans, the first instance following a blockbuster trade with the Dolphins, and became the league’s first $30MM-per-year O-lineman this offseason when he inked a Washington extension.
The veteran blocker has done incredibly well for himself on the contract front. His new deal coming in at two years and $60.2MM — with $52.67MM fully guaranteed — was an undeniable victory. But the tackle market clawing to reach the $30MM-per-year level seems out of place.
Washington and its top O-lineman finalized his extension shortly after the legal tampering period began in March. While the tampering period did not impact Tunsil due to his second Texans extension running through the 2026 season, the business-savvy blocker may have been able to secure better terms by waiting to see where Tyler Linderbaum‘s market finished.
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Although Linderbaum plays center, his free agency endpoint soaring past the guard high-water mark proved eye-opening. The league’s highest-paid center, thanks to free agency, secured more player-friendly terms than its highest-priced tackle. A slim AAV gap (barely $3MM) remains between Tunsil’s top-market tackle contract and Linderbaum’s seismic center pact (for practical purposes, a fully guaranteed three-year, $81MM Raiders deal), but Linderbaum’s eye-opening Raiders price sounded alarm bells for the higher-value O-line positions.
A month later, the Texans completed a deal that struck a bigger blow to the tackle world. Will Anderson Jr. finalized a three-year, $150MM Houston extension. That followed a transformative 2025 for the edge rusher position, which had seen the top salary move from $34MM per year (Nick Bosa‘s 2023 49ers payday) to $46.5MM AAV (Micah Parsons‘ post-trade Packers pact). Much like the cornerback market during two of the wide receiver booms earlier this decade, the tackle market has stagnated.
