Can Texans trade LT Laremy Tunsil to the Bengals?

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are entering an offseason where their roster could experience a significant amount of reconstruction beyond the inevitable departure of Deshaun Watson. And joining the disgruntled quarterback who could be on their way out of Houston is Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

Tunsil, who has two years left on his contract, is set to make a tad over $26.0 million in 2022 — which is not the ideal situation for a team in the early stages of a rebuild. And after sustaining a thumb injury that was slated to take a recovery time of four weeks, Tunsil appeared in five games for the Texans amid their 4-13 campaign.

It’s uncertain what the future has in store for Tunsil, but it appears that general manager Nick Caserio will keep his options open when constructing the Texans’ roster for 2022. Could a trade be over the horizon for one of the best offensive linemen in the league today?

“We’re going through the evaluation of our team and where we’re at,” Caserio said during his exclusive interview with Payne & Pendergast on Jan. 18. “We’ll go through our team whenever we do get the head coach in place, we’ll probably have to bring them up to speed, I’ll probably have to bring them up to speed on where we are from a personnel standpoint. So, I would say Laremy would fall under that category just like everybody else.”

Should the Texans move on from Tunsil this offseason, Houston could have a suitable contender in the Cincinnati Bengals for his services.

For the first time since 1988, the Bengals have advanced to the AFC Championship Game, and Cincinnati has a realistic chance to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVI by defeating the Kansa City Chiefs on Sunday.

But to improve their chances of reaching the Super Bowl, the Bengals must find a way to protect Joe Burrow against the Chiefs’ pass-rush — a simple task Cincinnati’s offensive line has failed to accompish throughout the 2021 season.

Burrow led the league in sacks with 51 throughout the 2021 campaign, but the Bengals’ struggles to protect their franchise quarterback were on full display amid their 19-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Burrow, who threw for 348 yards in the win, was sacked nine times at Nissan Stadium against the Titans on Sunday.

For the Bengals to fully maximize Burrow’s potential, one can assume that revamping their offensive line will be the top priority for the organization this offseason. And the Texans could assist the Bengals in obtaining a foundational piece on their offensive line.

The Bengals’ need to upgrade their offensive line is similar to the Texans’ situation in 2019, which led to Houston acquiring Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins for two first-round picks (2020, 2021) and a 2021 second-round selection in exchange.

The Texans may not receive the same haul that ushered in the University of Mississippi prodigy. But a high draft selection from Cincinnati could be enough for Houston to move on from Tunsil.