The Kansas City Chiefs have been mentioned as a potential trade partner with the Houston Texans in any Laremy Tunsil deal.
It’s the move that makes the most sense based on Brett Veach’s history at left tackle. That’s because the last time the Kansas City Chiefs general manager went to correct issues at the left tackle position, he demonstrated a willingness to chase the biggest fish again and again.
The Chiefs are preparing for the start of a new league year with both starting offensive tackles from a Super Bowl victor—Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie—ready to hit free agency. Given the team’s central need to keep Patrick Mahomes upright and healthy, having two holes along the ends of the offensive front is not a good look, but Veach has several months to come up with solutions.
One such solution, if the Chiefs fail to bring back Brown and/or Wylie in their respective roles, is to take another big swing like he did two years ago: a trade to the Houston Texans for Laremy Tunsil.
Remember two years ago that Veach wanted to solve his concerns along the offensive line after watching a season meltdown in the final game due to o-line injuries and issues. To start, he chased the single greatest tackle in the game, Trent Williams, in free agency as far as he could with a very public courtship that would have demanded top of the market money.
When Williams signed with the 49ers, the Chiefs didn’t just turn to the draft or resort to a simpler Plan B. Instead, the Chiefs decided to take on the next biggest prize available by trading for Orlando Brown Jr. from the Baltimore Ravens.
After two seasons with Brown on the left side, the jury is still mixed as to whether or not K.C. can or will bring him back on a long-term deal. The Chiefs could certainly still find common ground on a multi-year contract, but they also might decide to move on in an effort to get cheaper and/or better at the position.
Given that Veach took two big swings last time, it stands to reason that he would want to do so again this offseason. The move to make, if that’s his mindset, is to explore a potential trade for Tunsil, one of the best pass blockers in the game and arguably the most talented player on the Houston Texans roster.
In a recent pre-free agency column over at ESPN, NFL reporter Dan Graziano noted that the Chiefs would make sense for such a deal, if Houston is up for it. He writes:
"One potential trade target I’m watching is Houston left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Texans have resisted trading him in recent years, but he has just one year and a nonguaranteed $18.5 million left on his contract and could be a target of the Chiefs if they aren’t able to bring back Orlando Brown Jr."
There are two ways to view Tunsil and the Texans, at least from their perspective. If Houston wants to tear it all down and rebuild with a dynamic core that’s all about the same age, they should trade Tunsil when his value is at its highest and cash in on the draft picks that would come back to them from a team like Kansas City. At the same time, the Texans have to field a team and if they want to protect a young quarterback and build momentum, Tunsil’s abilities would go a long way toward building a solid front line.
There are fans who will wonder if Veach would even want to pay what it would take to get Tunsil in terms of draft assets and the money for a new contract extension, but his past behavior at the position is more of an indication that he would more than not. But whether the Texans are willing to dance is another question entirely.