Commanders LT Laremy Tunsil tore his left triceps in Saturday's practice and will likely require surgery, NFL Network reports. That'll leave Washington without a key blocker, and it's not yet clear how long they'll miss him. The NFL Network report says only that Tunsil will miss "at least a significant portion of the regular season."
What They're Saying: Big Injury for Offense
ESPN's John Keim: "It's a crucial blow to the Commanders' offense, costing the team a player considered one of the best at his position. The recovery time for such an injury is typically at least four months and as long as six or seven."
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Jayden Daniels Likely to Feel Impact
Here's a signal on how important Tunsil is: Washington signed him to a two-year extension this offseason that makes the LT the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league by annual contract average.
Pro Football Focus graded Tunsil as the league's third-best OT in pass blocking last year, his fourth straight season among the top 4 in that category.
The run-blocking grades haven't proved near as strong, so this loss figures to affect QB Jayden Daniels more than the RBs.
Fill-in Brandon Coleman graded out significantly poorer in pass blocking over his first two seasons, but he did spend this offseason training with Tunsil.
Here's what Coleman told reporter Ethan Cadeaux earlier this week:
"He basically revamped my whole approach to how I treat camp and the season. There's a lot of stuff that I took from him, from his nutritionist to his stregth guy, working with a chef, just taking care of my body a lot better. My prep for practice is a lot different. Seeing how a guy like that prepares when I was with him for three weeks every day, how he treats his body, what he does in his off time and how he recovers. ... There's only one Laremy Tunsil, in my opinion. The best tackle in the league."
It can't hurt that the 2024 third-round pick spent so much time with Tunsil in the offseason, and we should probably expect Coleman to improve. But he's not likely to match Tunsil.
We're not altering Daniels' projections for the Tunsil absence, but this adds some downside risk. We'll be watching into the season for potential impact.
