Miami Dolphins made the smart move to trade Laremy Tunsil
By Brian Miller
Laremy Tunsil is very good on the verge of being a great left tackle in the NFL but the Miami Dolphins were smart to trade him last year.
Last year the Miami Dolphins traded away their franchise left tackle and fans had a fit. Laremy Tunsil was the perfect blindside blocker and Chris Grier’s decision to begin gutting the team and that part of the offensive line was a big mistake. It wasn’t
This is not a knock on Laremy Tunsil. He made the Pro Bowl last year with the Houston Texans and helped them make the playoffs but now Tunsil is looking to get off his rookie contract and he wants to be paid at an elite, maybe even above the elite level for left tackles.
Lane Johnson of the Eagles currently holds the highest salary at the position. He is playing on a deal worth up to $77 million but according to the Houston Chronicle, the article is behind a firewall but was reported on NFLTraderumors.com, Tunsil is looking for a deal that would pay him $19 to $20 million per season.
Despite the fact that the Miami Dolphins are swimming in salary cap space, tying up $20 million a year for a left tackle is a bit much even for the Dolphins. Chris Grier had to have seen this coming, probably not to this extent but knowing that he would be wanting a long-term extension with elite pay, may have been a factor in why Grier moved on from him.
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This year Grier is going to be tasked with finding his replacement via free agency or the NFL Draft. Several top offensive linemen have had great showings at the NFL Combine and their stock is rising. The question is whether or not they will be available with one of the two other first-round draft picks or if the Dolphins will look for a round-two replacement.
For now, the trade of Tunsil looks better seeing what he believes his worth is. He will not likely sign that kind of contract but it will come in a couple of million short and even at $17 million a year, that is still a lot. We can give Grier a slight victory in turning Tunsil into several draft picks and eliminating the costly new contract.