Commanders LT Tunsil Tears Triceps in Training Camp, Faces Season-Long Absence

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders thought they'd fixed the blindside. They hadn't.

Laremy Tunsil, the five-time Pro Bowler Washington remade its offensive line around, tore his triceps during Saturday morning's training camp practice and is now facing surgery and a likely multi-month absence, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Steve Wyche. According to a report reviewed by CBS Sports, the injury will force Tunsil to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season.

It happened the way these things usually do -- a routine rep that suddenly wasn't. According to reporting from Hogs Haven, which had a reporter on site, Tunsil was blocking edge rusher Odafe Oweh during one-on-one pass-rush drills when the pair locked arms on a bull rush. Tunsil awkwardly disengaged and immediately clutched his arm and elbow. He was escorted to the medical tent and then into the building.

The timing is brutal in ways that go beyond the injury itself. Just five months ago, Washington made Tunsil the first offensive tackle in NFL history to reach $30 million in average annual value, signing him to a two-year, $60.2 million extension, per CBS Sports. Per Fox Sports, he'll collect $34.35 million this season anyway, including a $32.5 million signing bonus already paid out. The Commanders won't get that money back. They also won't get the protection.

This is a franchise that went 5-12 in 2025 and is trying to build back toward the NFC Championship level it reached in 2024. Per ESPN, Tunsil was the only Commander ranked in the top ten of the network's recent survey of coaches and executives leaguewide. He was also, per ESPN, becoming a mentor to first-round right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. The ripple effects aren't small.

Now Washington has to figure out what comes next, and the options are thin. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that veteran tackle Andrew Wylie is 'likely' the new starter, though Wylie has logged all of five snaps at left tackle since entering the league in 2017. Brandon Coleman, the former third-round pick who started 12 games at left tackle as a rookie in 2024, is another name in the mix, per CBS Sports. Neither is Laremy Tunsil.

The Commanders did move to shore up depth earlier Saturday, signing linemen Daniel Brunskill and Nicholas Petit-Frere before Tunsil's tests came back, per Pro Football Rumors. That looks like front-office competence in retrospect. It's also nowhere near enough.

Washington opens the season against the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 1 game Fox has designated as 'America's Game of the Week.' The Cowboys follow in Week 2. Quarterback Jayden Daniels took a beating last year. Whoever lines up at left tackle in those games is going to be tested early, and the whole NFC East knows it.

The Commanders traded four draft picks to Houston for Tunsil before the 2025 season, per ESPN. They gave him a market-setting contract in March. They built a protection scheme around him. Thirty-two games into the arrangement, they're back to improvising on the most important piece of real estate on the offensive line. That's a front-office decision that looked right at the time. Right now it just looks expensive.

Sources cited:
- CBS Sports (https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/commanders-laremy-tunsil-torn-triceps-will-miss-most-of-2026-season/)
- ESPN (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49564238/commanders-lt-laremy-tunsil-suffers-torn-triceps)
- Pro Football Rumors (https://www.profootballrumors.com/2026/08/commanders-lt-laremy-tunsil-suffers-triceps-tear)
- Fox Sports (https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/commanders-tackle-laremy-tunsil-miss-significant-time-tricep-injury)
- Hogs Haven (https://www.hogshaven.com/washington-commanders-news/430511/commanders-injury-news-laramey-tunsil-torn-triceps)