Heading into the final year of his three-year contract, the Washington Commanders could be in a good position to extend starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Washington enters the offseason with several question marks, potentially shifting more to the defensive side of the ball than offense given how porous the Commanders have proven to be under both defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and head coach Dan Quinn in 2025.
With both Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown on expiring contracts, wide receiver is a big question mark. Zach Ertz’s long-term injury puts the tight end position in a bigger focus as former second and fourth-round picks Ben Sinnott and John Bates are able to showcase on bigger roles over the last four games.
While the marquee additions under general manager Adam Peters has been a mixed bag of results, arguably none have proven to be bigger than left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Tunsil arrived the summer in a trade that sent four draft picks, including a 2026 second and fourth-round pick, to Houston. In a move that broke nine days after trading for Samuel
Tunsil grades as the third-best tackle in the NFL, per PFF, with just two sacks allowed in 2025, tied for third-fewest allowed among tackles who have logged at least 450 pass pro snaps. The veteran also posted the sixth-lowest pressure rate among tackles with 150 pass blocking snaps, per Next Gen Stats, and allowed three of fewer pressures in all but three games.
Despite another year still left on his contract, the long-term status of the offseason trade acquisition is as big a question as the rest.
A new report points to optimism in a return in 2026 and beyond.
"I'm a vet now. This is year ten for me. So it's just like 'going to go out here and just do my thing," Tunsil told the Washington Post. "I really bust my ass in the offseason...I have confidence in the work I put in, so I don't really be tripping about all the other s*it that comes with it."
Despite three wins in an injury-ridden season, Tunsil looked beyond the record to point to why he's happy in Washington.
"Even though we have a losing record, it's still a good environment to come work in," he said. "It's not like that in other places. Like when I was losing in Houston in 2020, 2021, 2022, it was like 'damn I got to go to work. I got to deal with this s*it again.' Coming here, [Dan Quinn] still makes it fun. It's enjoyable to come to work."
Tunsil doubled down on his confidence in the Commanders' second-year head coach.
"I want to play for DQ as long as I can. He's become one of my favorite coaches that I had in the league. It's fun to follow a guy like that. As he leads, it's not like a hard-ass or like cussing players out or anything, it's more of just like teaching, you know, talking, letting you be free and giving you the freedom to like to be a professional."
Despite sitting on the outside-looking-in for the Pro Bowl, Tunsil has entrenched himself as one of the best tackles in the league this season to give the Commanders stability at a position they have worked to secure for years.
Whether Washington helps Tunsil, currently the fifth-highest rated tackle in the NFL, reset the market with a fresh extension this offseason remains to be seen. With roughly $60 million projected in cap space, the Commanders have that flexibility. And after watching Jayden Daniels suffer a sophomore season filled with injuries, paying a premium to protect the future of the franchise could prove the type of move worth making for Peters and the front office ahead of a pivotal year three.