On Friday, the Houston Texans made left tackle Laremy Tunsil the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history with a three-year, $66 million extension. Next on the Texans' radar will be locking up the man Tunsil is charged with protecting: quarterback Deshaun Watson. According to Ed Werder of ESPN, the Texans have engaged in "very preliminary" discussions with Watson about a potential contract extension. With Tunsil's contract complete, securing Watson for the future is the next priority -- and the team is hoping to reach an agreement before the start of the 2020 season. 

Watson is coming off of another impressive season in which he threw for 3,852 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Texans went 10-6, finished in first place in the AFC South for the second year in a row and beat the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. It was an incredible comeback win, as Houston was once down 16-0 to Buffalo in the third quarter, but rallied for a 22-19 victory. The Texans then fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round -- even after holding a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The former No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has continued to show that he's one of the up-and-coming stars in this league. He's now made two straight Pro Bowls, and has thrown for 9,716 yards, 71 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 38 career games.

It's been an interesting offseason so far for both the Texans and Watson. Bill O'Brien shook up the NFL landscape at the start of free agency by trading Watson's top wideout in DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for virtually an injury-prone 28-year-old running back. Watson then posted some cryptic lyrics about a murky future and "iconic duos" being ripped apart, then sent speculation into hyper-drive by liking another user's tweet about deserving "better" -- a tweet not-so-subtly featuring a picture of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who just happens to be in need of a new quarterback now that Tom Brady's packed his bags for Florida. 

Some wondered if Watson was actually on the trade block, but this new development would indicate O'Brien and Co. are interested in keeping Watson in Houston for years to come.