- 2 days ago
Laremy Tunsil suffered a possible season-ending injury over the weekend. How bad is this for Washington's chances at getting back to the playoffs?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00So last week, I don't know if the right word celebration, but people were very enthusiastic that the commanders went
00:07out and signed Stefan Diggs.
00:08It buried the Brandon Iyuk talk, although Big Keith insists they can still go out and get Brandon Iyuk and
00:16then you have a ridiculous receiving core.
00:19But people were really excited about the Stefan Diggs addition.
00:23And then this weekend, kind of a downer. You hear about Laramie Tunsell, who was the only guy on this
00:29team when I think it was PFF did those top 10 players at the position.
00:35He was the only guy that finished in the top five for the Washington Commanders. Four-time pro bowler.
00:42I saw it initially reported as a torn pec, but he tore his triceps.
00:45Either way, the way that they're terming it is, he will be out for potentially the whole season or a
00:54significant portion of the season.
00:56I actually put this up as our junkies poll of the day before we even jump on the air.
01:01That's brought to you by Surfside Iced Tea and Vodka or Surfside Lemonade and Vodka.
01:05This summer, grab a Surfside, your go-to canned cocktail. It's made with real vodka, only 100 calories and zero
01:11bubbles.
01:11It's not a seltzer. It's Surfside. Must be 21. Please drink responsibly.
01:15And the question, and I'd like to hear from Commanders fans who are up listening this morning, 1-800-636
01:22-1067, is how worried are you now about the offensive line?
01:27They lose Laramie Tunsell. They've had issues at center.
01:31Allegretti's out.
01:32You know, big picture, we talked about this. At center, Beatish was the starter last year.
01:37Yep.
01:38He left. They tried to go after Tyler Linderbaum. Instead, they're like, okay, well, Nick Allegretti can do it.
01:44Now he's hurt. Now you lose Laramie Tunsell, left tackle.
01:49I voted already. I said somewhat worried because they do have Brandon Coleman who started there before.
01:55Yeah, I mean, the good news is that Coleman's still a very young player. He's an athletic player.
02:00You know, they had envisioned him when they selected him that he would be their left tackle for, you know,
02:05five, six, seven, eight years potentially.
02:07And then they had the opportunity to get Tunsell, who is like a generational talent, who's going to probably end
02:13up in Canton, too good of an opportunity to pass up.
02:16And then that gave them the ability to move Coleman around, maybe, you know, use him at guard, whatever.
02:22And that's what he's done.
02:24But, look, it's a devastating injury, there's no doubt about it.
02:27You can easily make the argument that Tunsell's their best player.
02:32But they won 14 games, including two playoff games, when Coleman was a big part of it, started 12 of
02:38them at left tackle as a rookie.
02:40You've got to assume that he's, you know, going to get better as a professional.
02:46I know that Tunsell's taken all those guys under his wing a little bit.
02:49So, I don't think it's devastating to the point that the season's over, but it's definitely a hurtful injury, no
02:54doubt about it.
02:55I'm somewhat thankful that it happened when it happened, because you still have maybe 30 days or so where you
03:01could try to scheme around it.
03:02You could try to bring in some veterans, to bring in some reinforcements.
03:06But it definitely hurts him.
03:08And do I have concern about the offensive line?
03:10Definitely.
03:10It's definitely the most concerning unit right now, based on injury.
03:141-800-636-1067.
03:17So, Brandon Coleman started the last three games of the last season at left tackle.
03:22I saw his PFF grade in pass blocking for the last two games was at 79.1 and 82 pass
03:30blocking.
03:31That's respectable.
03:32As EB mentioned, he had all those starts.
03:34And then they do have other guys within the team who've played tackle.
03:39Andrew Wiley and Trent Scott.
03:41But I saw an intriguing name, and I'd be curious if Adam Peters goes this route.
03:49And it's the David Blau connection.
03:52Now I'm forgetting his first name, but Decker.
03:54Taylor.
03:54Taylor Decker, who's 33.
03:56He can't work.
03:57Yeah.
03:57Left tackle.
03:59That might be somebody to target if you're not super comfortable.
04:02Yeah, I saw that name, too.
04:04I don't know.
04:04He's a big, high-money guy.
04:06Yeah.
04:07But he's had a lot of injuries the last couple years.
04:09Correct.
04:09Apparently, they've slowed him down a little bit.
04:10So, who knows?
04:11I mean, there's no doubt they're kicking those tires.
04:14Correct.
04:14No doubt about it.
04:15The thing I worry about is, yeah, I mean, you're losing Tunsil, and it's a big loss.
04:20And Coleman could probably do the job.
04:21He's not as good as Tunsil, but he could do the job.
04:23But then, if there's an injury to Coleman, you're just affecting the depth, especially
04:27at that position.
04:28The offensive line is definitely the biggest concern.
04:28Yeah, the offensive line right now, it should be a concern.
04:31And there was a chance Coleman was going to be a starting left guard.
04:34Right.
04:34So, now you've handed the position to Paul, which maybe he was going to win anyway.
04:39He might have been the starter anyway.
04:42But now you don't really have competition, and yeah, you're just thinner.
04:47There's just, I mean, especially in the first month of the season, when you're going
04:50to be playing some strong defensive lines like Philly and Seattle, you don't want a
04:55depleted offensive line, not in the first three weeks.
04:58You know, it's pretty tough when you've got three really tough games.
05:02And if you go 0-3, everyone's going to say the season's over.
05:06So, you want to win a couple of those games, and if you have a depleted offensive line against
05:10those defensive lines, it's going to be tough.
05:11They just gave him $30 million, right?
05:14Yep.
05:16It's just bad luck.
05:17It was like a two-year extension, $60-some million, and I think $31 million was guaranteed.
05:21But I think you touched on the other part that's going to be really difficult, is that
05:25it's not going to be the only injury.
05:26They haven't even played one preseason game yet.
05:29Right.
05:29So, I mean, the offensive line is going to take some blows.
05:32They're going to have to bring in reinforcements.
05:34But again, I am almost thankful that it's happened now, because they have a month to kind of tweak
05:41things and figure out where they're going to double, and where they're going to use tight
05:44ends and, you know, what the center's going to, you know, they got all that time to figure
05:48that out and give it the best shot, versus if it happened in, like, week six or something.
05:52And it's not something that Adam Peters has ignored in the draft.
05:56So, Brandon Coleman was drafted in 2024.
05:58They draft Connerly.
06:00They've brought in guys to upgrade that offensive line.
06:03It sucks that they're not going to be at full force.
06:06Yeah.
06:07But again...
06:08It is what it is.
06:09I mean, you've got to bounce back.
06:11I mean, they won 14 games with Coleman largely at left tackle.
06:15That's a great point.
06:15So, I think still the most daunting thing about 2026 is the schedule and the way the first
06:2211 games play out.
06:23It's like the third or fourth toughest in the NFL.
06:27Extremely difficult schedule.
06:28And when you add in injuries like that, it only makes it more difficult.
06:31But I wouldn't throw in the towel.
06:33Let's see what they come up with.
06:34It's a bright staff.
06:36It's a challenge.
06:37But don't write them off.
06:39Don't write them off.
06:39No, you shouldn't be.
06:41So, Coleman in 2024 played in 16 games, 12 starts.
06:45Yeah.
06:47Yeah, I mean, he's done it before.
06:49I mean, it's just a drop-off.
06:51But the depth is a thing that's definitely going to be a factor.
06:56They're going to have injuries along that offensive line.
06:59That season's a grind over the 17 games, over the next few preseason games.
07:04I mean, Allegretti already being nicked.
07:05I mean, I assume that Allegretti will be ready to go come week one.
07:09But you can tell they're kind of bringing him along slowly.
07:11They're being careful with him.
07:13That could just be the tip of the iceberg with him.
07:15They could be battling injured all season.
07:16I don't know when it was Quinn talked about Allegretti and said, yeah, he's probably another
07:20week away or so.
07:22Yeah.
07:22So, that could mean two weeks.
07:23Who knows?
07:24There are some people, though, that are apoplectic about this.
07:28If you want to chime in, 1-800-636-1067.
07:31You can also tweet us at Junk's Radio.
07:33This from Angry Rob.
07:34He says, original prediction was 7-10.
07:37Added digs, 8-9.
07:39So, he gave them one more win.
07:41He said, now no Tunsil, 5-12.
07:44Yeah.
07:44That's a huge drop-off.
07:46This one from P.S.
07:48One step forward, five steps backwards.
07:50Too many questions now on the offensive line with the new offensive scheme.
07:57It's definitely not a strength of the football team.
08:01There's no question about it.
08:03It's the biggest question.
08:04Now, fortunately, they did a lot to beef up the defense.
08:08I do think that they're going to play much better defense.
08:12They're not going to give up as many points.
08:15They may not be as productive offensively as they would be in a perfect world.
08:18But I still think they have, you know, adding digs, adding that extra weapon is going to
08:23make them even more difficult to defend.
08:25He's going to have to be careful.
08:26His blind side is not going to be as covered like it would have been.
08:30But again, they found a way to win 12 regular season games without Laramie Tunsil in 2024.
08:37Right.
08:37But there's a reason they gave him all that money.
08:39Well, because he's a generational type player.
08:42No doubt.
08:42I think in that ranking, he was ranked fifth best left tackle in the league.
08:46Well, here's how it affects you.
08:48When you have a guy like Tunsil, who's top three at his position, you just leave him on
08:53an island.
08:53You don't have to worry about that.
08:54And then, you know, he'll give up a few pressures.
08:56But, you know, on the whole, don't worry about that part.
08:58Now, you've got to worry about it on every play.
09:01It doesn't mean you can't be successful, but it means maybe the center has to shift over,
09:06you know, to help out the tackle chip.
09:08You know, maybe you've got to line up a tight end instead of running them to help Connerly.
09:11Now you've got to line them up over there to help Coleman.
09:14Who knows?
09:15But there are ways you can scheme around it.
09:17Of course, but it hurts when you lose.
09:20You know, it's hard to call a tackle a star player, but on this team.
09:24That's why they get paid so much.
09:26He's a star player.
09:27Yeah.
09:27And so you're losing a star player.
09:29Well, you saw what happened last year with the Chargers because Herbert lost both tackles.
09:34Right.
09:34Right.
09:35Left and right.
09:36Slater in all.
09:36And he was second in the league in sacks with 54, and he led the league in quarterback pressures.
09:42So it's a huge deal.
09:44I mean, not every team has a really good backup like Coleman, but when you lose your starting tackle,
09:50it's just going to affect you.
09:51And by the way, I agree with them just plugging Coleman in.
09:55He did play left tackle there his rookie year.
09:57That's kind of what they projected him to be.
09:59I don't agree with moving Connerly over.
10:02Let Connerly continue to develop lockdown.
10:04That right tackle spot is best they can.
10:07I don't agree with putting Wiley over there.
10:08I think actually if you look at Wiley's career, he's only started at left tackle maybe a couple times.
10:13He's a right side guy typically.
10:17So I think it's the right move.
10:19It's the best move they can make now.
10:20Maybe they bring in Decker, and he's a little healthier, and he's a grizzled.
10:24I think I saw Decker was making like $20 million last year.
10:26Yeah.
10:27So, I mean, that's obviously a proven guy.
10:28And what's his deal?
10:29He's trying to get a long-term deal, and they won't give it to him?
10:31Is it a contract dispute?
10:32I'm not sure.
10:33I know he's banged up, and I think he asked for his release, I think.
10:37This one from Tom Gugliotta on Twitter, not the basketball player.
10:44Itest shows Coleman is top half of left tackles in the league, and he's still developing.
10:48Keeping with the theme of competition and getting the most of your talent, his staff highlights.
10:53Could be an opportunity that does us more good than bad in the end.
10:57I don't know.
10:58That's a half-glass full guy.
10:59Yeah, I mean, I like it.
11:01I appreciate the optimism.
11:05I'm not sure I'm as optimistic, but I wouldn't write him off.
11:08They're still going to be competitive.
11:09Let's go to the phones.
11:101-800-636-1067.
11:13How worried are you that Laramie Tunsil could be done for the season their Pro Bowl left tackle?
11:18By the way, I would consider him done for the season.
11:21I think it would take a miracle.
11:22I think they did say that maybe John Allen came back one year.
11:25Remember, he had the torn tricep or something.
11:28I think his was a pack, but maybe it was tricep.
11:30Was his a pack instead?
11:31All right, let's go to Marcus in Bowie.
11:341-800-636-1067 if you want to chime in.
11:38Marcus, what's up, buddy?
11:40What's going on, gentlemen?
11:42Good morning.
11:43What's up, Marcus?
11:43You know, it's amazing.
11:45Hey, hey, man, you know, it is what it is.
11:48This is the game.
11:50But it's crazy.
11:51Roughly about a month ago, the question posed on this show where the question was asked,
11:58if Jaden Daniels is the most important player on this roster, who is the second most important player?
12:06Yeah.
12:06And I called in.
12:07I called in just to say, and I said, Laramie Tunsil.
12:12Yeah.
12:12And when I heard the news, I was heartbroken.
12:16Yeah.
12:17I am optimistic, though, about Brandon Coleman stepping into that opportunity.
12:24Laramie Tunsil has taken both Brandon Coleman as well as Josh Connolly under his wings,
12:31teaching them a lot of the rudiments of the game, a lot of what's made him successful in the game.
12:38And now it's next man up.
12:40It's an opportunity for Brandon Coleman to show and prove.
12:46He was the man, for the most part, to the success of the 2024 season.
12:53So, I'm not ready to write the season off.
12:56Marcus, what was your win total prediction before this?
13:01Let's say post-Stefan Diggs, and then what is it now?
13:08So, I predict a 10-7 season.
13:14Okay.
13:15I predict a 10-7 season.
13:17I think the key is going to be us getting through those first five games.
13:23Those first five games are going to be brutal.
13:27But if we can navigate those first five games and come out with a 3-2, 2-3 record,
13:36I think we're in pretty good shape for the remainder of the season.
13:40It's not just the first five, though, because then you have San Francisco, at San Francisco,
13:43then you have Philly, then you have the Rams, then you have the Giants, the Bengals.
13:48I mean, it's just, it's brutal.
13:50The first 11 on the whole are brutal.
13:53No doubt.
13:53They've got to find a way to get off to a good start.
13:56You've got to steal one or two.
13:57Thank you, Marcus.
13:58We still have them at 10-7.
14:00Yeah.
14:01It'd be a damn good season.
14:02If they go 10-7, that'd be amazing.
Comments