ORLANDO, Fla. — Laremy Tunsil‘s world changed plenty in 2019 when he was traded from Miami to Houston.
The deal netted the Dolphins a haul of assets, while it provided the Texans with another pass-catching option in receiver Kenny Stills and a cornerstone left tackle the franchise has lacked since the departure of veteran Duane Brown. Tunsil’s play helped Houston return to the playoffs and earn a postseason win. It also earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
With Houston now having answered the question at left tackle and Tunsil entering the final year of his rookie contract, it seems as if all there is left to do — other than attempt to continue the success that the organization enjoyed in 2019 — is to secure Tunsil’s services for many years beyond 2020. With Tunsil under team control for one more campaign, he’s not spending much time thinking about it, but if he does receive a long-term offer, he’d be content.
“I’m cool with it,” Tunsil said of a potential extension when speaking with NFL.com Thursday. “Whatever coach decides to do, I’m happy. I’d be happy to stay there with Deshaun (Watson) and help win games.”
Tunsil had to adjust on the fly in 2019, going from a struggling team in Miami to a contending one in Houston. That required learning a whole new offense and developing a familiarity with Watson and his fellow linemen. It also called for developing an understanding of a new coaching staff, locker room and city, something Tunsil described as “a long journey but a smooth process” with which Tunsil said Stills helped plenty.
An unfortunate product of being part of a new offense was a jump in Tunsil’s false start penalties, which Tunsil didn’t avoid acknowledging when asked about his struggles that drew yellow flags.
“I don’t know if that’s something that I can work on,” Tunsil said with a chuckle. “It’s just something that’s mental, you know, you have to lock in a little bit more. New quarterback, new cadence, but everybody don’t look at that. But it’s cool.”
Despite that small problem, Tunsil was still a massive upgrade for a line in need of one. Houston’s offense improved with him anchoring the left side of the line, culminating in the Texans‘ wild-card win over the Buffalo Bills.
Tunsil is ready to run it back in 2020, and if that includes a firm commitment to the Texans beyond the new year, he’d be pleased to remain in Houston. We’ll see if that happens any time soon.