Tunsil can’t wait to play with Daniels in Washington. He hopes the QB makes him an All-Pro lineman

After joining the Washington Commanders following a trade from the Houston Texans, standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil just wants to do what he can to help his new team.

“I’m down to do whatever they want me to do,” Tunsil said. “If they need me to play quarterback and back up Jayden Daniels, then I can do that.”

That won’t be necessary. The coaching staff would rather Tunsil play a big role in keeping Daniels upright.

On a video call with reporters Monday following the trade becoming official over the weekend, the 30-year-old who spent the past two seasons blocking for C.J. Stroud expressed excitement about doing the same for Daniels and believes it could get him his first All-Pro nod in his 10th NFL season.

“I can tell you this: I actually can’t wait to block for Jayden Daniels,” Tunsil said. “He’s a baller, just from seeing him on TV and watching film. … Just said a good person, a baller, so I can’t wait. He’ll make my job hella easy.”

Tunsil, now 30, was voted to the Pro Bowl five times in his six seasons with Houston after being traded there from the Miami Dolphins. He found this trade easier to swallow because of how the Texans handled it.

“I respect the Houston Texans just giving me a heads-up because when I was with Miami, I didn’t get the courtesy call from Miami,” Tunsil said. “I kind of woke up out of my nap and got traded. At least this time it was a little bit different.”

Tunsil also isn’t bothered by the reason he was traded along with a 2025 fourth-round pick for a third- and a seventh-rounder this year and second- and fourth-rounders in 2026. He said Texans GM Nicholas Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans were up front about needing to clear salary cap space to pay younger players.

“I truly understand,” Tunsil said. “There’s no hard feelings. At the end of the day, it’s a business. I don’t take anything personal. There’s no hard feelings against the Houston Texans.”

Against himself? Maybe. With 17 penalties for 95 yards, Tunsil was the most penalized player in the league last season, getting flagged so much he may have even lost count.

Improving in that area is one of the many things he wants to work on.

“Those 19 penalties I had last season was unacceptable, so that’s something I want to address, for sure: getting that number down or even having none,” Tunsil said. “I want to keep growing as a player, honestly, as a pass blocker, a run blocker. It doesn’t matter. I’m always trying to improve in each of those fields.”

Tunsil is one of several high-profile additions already made by second-year GM Adam Peters, who also acquired receiver Deebo Samuel from San Francisco and signed defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, safety Will Harris and cornerback Jonathan Jones.

“The more that you can surround this young core group with guys that have played at a high level, that work hard, that provide consistency, I think the more that they can see these examples and kind of mold it into their own games,” said veteran QB Marcus Mariota, who is returning to back up Daniels. “The more that we can bring guys in like that, whether it’s Laremy, whether it’s Deebo, the more that you can bring these guys in that have done it and played at a high level, I think that just raises the level of the young core that we have.”

AP NFL: