As the Miami Dolphins continue their offseason rebuild, there are certain players who are projected to become the cornerstone of what will someday (hopefully) become the next great era of Miami football.
On Thursday, the Dolphins took a step towards that future by exercising the fifth-year option on left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s rookie contract; this move will keep the former first round pick under contract through the 2020 season. Tunsil’s salary in 2020? Around $10 million – a very small price to pay for a developing left tackle who is quickly becoming upper-echelon in the league.
By doing this, the contract becomes guaranteed in the case of injury, much like DeVante Parker’s contract. This also potentially buys Miami time to negotiate a potential long-term contract with Tunsil and further evaluate his progress. If, for whatever reason, Tunsil’s level of play dramatically falls off the Dolphins can rescind the option and allow Tunsil to become a free agent with no penalty to the team.
That last scenario is unlikely to occur, as Tunsil is quickly developing into a Pro Bowl caliber player. In 2018, he was ranked 16th overall in pass blocking among all NFL offensive tackles who played at least 50% of the offensive snaps according to ProFootballFocus and there’s no reason to believe that will start to fall anytime soon.
Tunsil is the first of Miami’s young stars to have his contract at least somewhat addressed. Now, the attention falls solely onto cornerback Xavien Howard, who recently stated that he is still speaking with the team about a long-term deal.
General manager Chris Grier is off to a promising start with this rebuild, now all that can be done is to wait and see who he brings in through the 2019 draft to further bolster the level of young talent.
