KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 15: Orlando Brown Jr. #57 of the Kansas City Chiefs against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Orlando Brown Jr. was allowed to walk by the Chiefs, and now the offense has landed with one of Kansas City’s biggest rivals, the Bengals.
The market for offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was a bit confusing as NFL free agency officially began on Wednesday. The Kansas City Chiefs chose not to sign their left tackle and appear to have replaced him by signing Javan Taylor. Furthermore, there hasn’t been much word on where Brown might end up or which teams are interested.
Now he has a landing spot and a new deal, and that will only make the burgeoning rivalry between Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals and Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the Bengals are signing Brown to a four-year deal worth a monster $64.092 million with a $31 million signing bonus, with most of the money reportedly front-loaded into the contract.
NFL rumors. former leaders O.T. Orlando Brown Jr. joins the rival Bengals
This will certainly add more fire to the rivalry between the Chiefs and the Bengals as he will now be protecting Burrow instead of Mahomes. However, Cincinnati was able to give Brown the money and, more importantly, the position he wanted.
Much has been made in recent days about Brown being considered the right tackle by many NFL teams. However, the veteran was adamant about wanting to play left tackle, which Mike Garafolo reports is the plan in Cincinnati.
Brown is an undeniable upgrade for the Bengals, though, as they can now slot in Jonah Williams or Lael Collins to cover the interior alongside Alex Cappa and Ted Karras, making the line deeper and stronger overall. That’s the key to long-term success for Burrow and this offense.
And that should only make future matchups against the Chiefs even more fun.