Every NFL team’s highest salary for the 2023 season

Houston Texans: Laremy Tunsil — $26.572 million

The Houston Texans are another team with youth across the depth chart, but just about everyone knows that Laremy Tunsil is their highest-paid player. The Texans traded an insane package to get the superstar left tackle. They were going to spend whatever it took to keep him in the building. Now, Tunsil is the veteran on a team that needs one. He is still playing at a high level, and the Texans have a roster that can make moves.

CJ Stroud isn’t the type of QB that is going to light the world on fire without a lot of help. He needs growth before we know exactly what kind of QB he will be. To get that growth, the Texans have to protect him. That’s why they haven’t traded Tunsil yet. He’s still important to what this team’s future looks like. Tunsil is still just 29 years old, so he could stick around with this Texans team until they are pretty good.

Tunsil is playing on a new contract, so he might be the team’s highest-paid player through the 2026 season. He’s doubling down on the Texans just like Houston did the same with him. Sure, that trade looks terrible at this point, but don’t forget the top pick in that deal was eventually used to take Trey Lance. The Texans might be in a worse spot if they kept the pick.

The Texans have the money to spend, and Tunsil has the desire to play this role. It’s a match made in Heaven, even though it probably felt like hell watching the seasons prior to this one.