BLOCKBUSTER TRADE!
Houston Texans' latest trade shakes up their roster in a big, big way
Mar 10, 2025, 4:06 pm
Laremy Tunsil is heading to the Commanders. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images.
The Washington Commanders made two big splashes Monday in the opening hours of NFL free agency, agreeing to terms with defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and acquiring standout offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil in a trade with the Houston Texans, a person with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal with Kinlaw cannot become official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday and the trade for Tunsil had not been announced. The Commanders are sending 2025 third- and seventh- round picks and 2026 second- and fourth-round picks to Houston for the five-time Pro Bowl selection and a fourth-rounder this year, the person said.
A second person told the AP that Kinlaw's deal is worth $45 million over the next three seasons, with $30 million guaranteed. Kinlaw, 27, becomes a replacement for Jonathan Allen after the second-longest-tenured player in the organization was released last week.
Tunsil, who turns 30 early in training camp, provides a major upgrade at left tackle for quarterback Jayden Daniels in his second season, allowing Brandon Coleman to slide over to guard. Tunsil is under contract through 2026.
Besides adding Kinlaw and Tunsil, the Commanders also re-signed punter Tress Way and tight end John Bates, one of the people said. Way, who is Washington’s longest-tenured player, signed for next season, while Bates got a three-year deal.
A first-round pick by San Francisco out of South Carolina in 2020 when current Commanders general manager Adam Peters was in the front office, Kinlaw had 4 1/2 sacks and 40 tackles last season with the New York Jets after spending his first four NFL seasons with the 49ers. He has 9 1/2 sacks and 124 tackles in 64 regular-season and playoff games.
The addition of Kinlaw strengthens an already formidable position even when subtracting Allen from the Commanders, who still have 2022 Pro Bowl pick Daron Payne and 2024 second-round pick Johnny Newton as interior defensive linemen. After re-signing six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner and bringing back veteran tight end Zach Ertz, Peters is expected to target edge rushers, among others, in free agency, the draft and potential trades.
Peters already made one big acquisition with another player he's familiar with, getting wide receiver Deebo Samuel from the Niners for a fifth-round pick.
“I’m excited to play with him, and it’s going to be fun,” Wagner said last week. "I look forward to what he brings to our team.”
Coming off the best season-to-season improvement in franchise history — from 4-13 to 12-5 — and an improbable run to the NFC championship game in Daniels' spectacular rookie year, Washington had among the most salary cap space in the league, with more than $80 million to spend before agreeing to terms with Kinlaw and trading for Tunsil.
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Yordan Alvarez’s hand injury is worse than it originally appeared.
The Houston slugger felt pain in his right hand on Friday while hitting and a small fracture that was previously believed to be a muscle strain was discovered. The fracture is about 60% healed.
General manager Dana Brown said he believes the fracture in Alvarez’s fourth metacarpal wasn’t discovered in initial imaging on May 6 because there was too much inflammation and fluid.
Alvarez has been out since May 3 with the injury. They had hoped he could come off the injured list this weekend.
“The immediate plan for him right now is to just let it rest,” Brown said. “And he’ll still continue to do other baseball activity like the running, he could probably go out in the outfield and catch. He can do everything else except for pick up a bat. And so, we don’t even want him hitting off tees even though he feels good enough to hit off a tee. Just let it heal completely and then you’ll be back.”
Since Friday’s imaging showed that the fracture was already more than halfway healed, Brown doesn’t believe it will keep him out too much longer.
“We’re hopeful that because he’s healed so much that ... he’ll be back sooner rather than later,” Brown said.
Alvarez was asked when he expects to return.
“I wish I had a magic ball to tell you,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “The good news is that it’s healing well, but I need rest because the fact that I was keeping on doing swings, it was taking it back, taking it (longer) to heal.”
Brown added that they think the fracture occurred when Alvarez tried to play through the initial muscle strain. Brown said he played for almost two weeks after initially noticing the problem before the first imaging was done.
“The muscle strain was real,” Brown said. “I really think that when he was fighting through those weeks knowing that it wasn’t the same feeling as some of his hand problems in the past ... maybe that’s when he may have caused a little bit more damage.”
Alvarez hit .210 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 29 games this season before landing on the injured list.