Laremy Tunsil displaying leadership while away from the Commanders
New Washington Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil may not have been with the team throughout the voluntary offseason program. Still, he found ways to exhibit veteran leadership, specifically with rookie first-round pick Josh Conerly Jr.
Natalie Spala of ABC News 7 in Washington, D.C., recently caught up with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson after OTAs this week in Ashburn. Johnson revealed that Tunsil was the first person to reach out to Conerly after the Commanders selected him 29th overall in the 2025 NFL draft.
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"He was the first guy to reach out to Josh when Josh got drafted," Johnson said. "So, you automatically see a guy who is willing to be a leader and how he can help this young guy. I'm excited to see how fast that accelerates Josh's development. Because here is a guy who has done it at a high level, who's very talented, that can kind of give Josh the answers to the test."
This is interesting because, reportedly, Tunsil's play wasn't the issue in Houston. Here's what Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wrote about the Tunsil trade from the Texans' perspective:
In short, DeMeco Ryans feels like the culture he wants across the board is in place on defense but not on offense and that a toxic atmosphere in the offensive line room was a root cause. And while Tunsil wasn't a bad guy (he was actually well-liked), he wasn't the type of leader to turn the ship—and needed to be as one of its captains.
Essentially, Houston preferred going younger at offensive tackle and didn't want to give Tunsil (31 in August) another lucrative extension. The Commanders were thrilled to land Tunsil to protect quarterback Jayden Daniels' blind side. Washington believes Tunsil has several years of high-quality play remaining.
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When Tunsil reached out to Conerly after the draft, it was a positive sign that put some of those rumors from his time with Houston to bed. Tunsil will be in town with the team next week as the Commanders hold their mandatory minicamp before breaking for training camp, which begins next month.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders LT Laremy Tunsil could be ideal mentor for Josh Conerly Jr.
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