Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) runs with the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Tuesday’s blockbuster NFL trade in which the Washington Commanders acquired five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Houston Texans for an assortment of 2025 and 2026 draft picks is likely to have major implications on the field and in the sports card hobby for the two franchises’ respective quarterbacks, Jayden Daniels and C.J. Stroud.
Texans Pro Bowl Left Tackle Laremy Tunsil Traded to Commanders in Blockbuster Deal
Daniels, the NFL Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press for his performance during the 2024 season, will be protected by one of the top blindside protectors in the sport. According to Pro Football Focus, the 30-year-old Tunsil earned the league’s fifth-highest pass blocking grade last season, allowing four sacks and 23 total pressures on 707 opportunities.
The addition of Tunsil is the latest in a series of moves the Commanders have made to maximize a championship window. Especially with Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, on a salary cap-friendly rookie contract.
Washington sent a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers on March 1 in exchange for wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Samuel can take on some of the workload Daniels carried last season, which included 148 rushing attempts during the regular season, if he regains the form he showed during his All-Pro season in 2021 (1,944 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns).
Daniels’ gain is, unfortunately, Stroud’s loss. It’s also another hole the Texans must fill in their quest to build a championship-caliber roster around the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Jayden Daniels Rookie Cards You Can Buy For $5
While 28-year-old running back Joe Mixon is coming off of his second consecutuve 1,000-yard season in Houston, the Texans are expected to be without wide receiver Tank Dell for most of the 2025 season after tearing multiple knee ligaments and dislocating his knee cap in a 27-19, Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Houston also lost 2024 offseason acquisition and current unrestricted agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL) in late October.
So, how will the Tunsil trade ultimately impact the card values for two of the league’s brightest young quarterbacks?
For Daniels, it could end the slide his cards have been on since the end of the season. According to 10 confirmed sales reported by Card Ladder on Tuesday, raw copies of Daniels’ 2024 Prizm (#347) Silver averaged $249.75, with eBay sales ranging from $207.50 to $325.
As of Monday, only 67 copies of the card had been graded a Gem Mint 10 by PSA, which reached a high sale of $3,000 on Jan. 10. The most recent sale of Daniels’ PSA 10 silver was a Card Ladder-confirmed $1,475 on Sunday. With the Tunsil trade coinciding with the flurry of activity for raw sales, Daniels PSA 10 silver seems primed to trend upward after bottoming out with a $1,133.35 sale in an eBay auction on Feb. 27.
C.J. Stroud has More Graded Prizm Parallels than Graded Base Cards!
Before the trade, Stroud’s PSA 10 silver (#339) began trending in a positive direction after tumbling in the wake of Houston’s 23-14 playoff loss to the Chiefs on Jan. 18. That makes the post-trade activity on Stroud’s cards worth tracking as collectors, investors and dealers decide whether or not to put their faith in the ship the former Ohio State standout is steering.
The card sold for $2,050 on eBay on Jan. 19, but took a nosedive two weeks later. A copy of the card sold for just $310 on Feb. 2, making it the lowest-confirmed sale by Card Ladder.
However, the average price among the 11 sales confirmed by Card Ladder in March (through Sunday) was $438.81. The lowest ($410 on eBay) and highest sales ($510 in an eBay auction) were recorded on Sunday.
While the population of Daniels’ PSA 10 silver pales in comparison to Stroud’s (2,102 PSA 10 silvers as of Monday), the Prizm silver is a frequently-transacted card, making it an ideal candidate to judge the markets of Daniels and Stroud. The Prizm silver has arguably become the hobby standard for non-autographed football rookie cards since Panini began manufacturing licensed NFL cards in 2012.
Hobby activity for football typically doesn’t truly heat up until the summer. Nevertheless, the urgency to build around young, talented quarterbacks has the card market simmering as teams tinker with their rosters.
Published 32 Minutes Ago|Modified 9:40 PM EDT
