Latest On Laremy Tunsil

Appearing on NFL Live earlier today, Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil unsurprisingly confirmed that’s aiming to become the NFL’s top-paid offensive lineman if and when he reaches a long-term deal with Houston.

“I’m not going to talk numbers, as I’m going to keep that between me and the club,” Tunsil said, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. “I am looking to be the highest-paid lineman, of course. I worked my butt off to be in that position and hopefully we can make that happen.”

Tunsil didn’t want to talk specific figures, but numbers have been reported. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle recently indicated the Texans are willing to make Tunsil the league’s highest-paid lineman and have offered an annual salary of $18.5MM, $500K more per year than the Eagles’ Lane Johnson collects.

Tunsil is reportedly looking to top $18.5MM annually, but it’s unclear just how much more he’s searching for. A $20MM/year pact would represent a significant increase in the offensive tackle market, but given that Houston sacrificed two first-round picks and a second-rounder to land Tunsil from the Dolphins last offseason, the 25-year-old holds all the leverage in talks.

The 13th overall selection in the 2016 draft, Tunsil will earn $10.35MM in 2019, the final year of his rookie pact. The Texans could conceivably retain him through 2021 by deploying consecutive franchise tags, but an extension seems far more likely.

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