Chiefs & LT Orlando Brown Not Close To Extension, Holdout Could Stretch To Week 1

According to Mike Garafolo, the Chiefs and LT Orlando Brown are “nowhere close” to an agreement on a long-term deal and his holdout could stretch past training camp and into Week 1 of the regular season. 

Garafolo mentions that Brown wants to be paid “at the top of the left tackle market,” but Kansas City’s offers have been based at the top of the right tackle market. 

Last week, Garafolo reported that extension talks with Brown were expected to heat up before the upcoming franchise deadline and there was optimism that the two parties could potentially reach an agreement.

Brown is owed $16.6 million fully guaranteed for the 2022 season under the franchise tag. The high end of the left tackle market is $22-23 million per year.

Brown said last month that he’s “very confident” that they will be able to get a long-term extension in place. 

“Very confident. Very confident,” Brown said. “Especially simply based off the things that have come into effect within our division, the type of defensive ends that have been brought in, the type of players and all of that type of stuff. It’s not the year to go into the season with a backup left tackle. So, I’m very confident that the Kansas City Chiefs will get that done.”

Brown, 25, was a third-round pick by the Ravens out of Oklahoma back in 2018. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $3.49 million rookie deal that included a signing bonus of $865,720 when he was traded to the Chiefs in exchange for a package that included a first-round pick. 

Brown Jr. is a two-time Pro Bowler and set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

In 2021, Brown appeared in 16 games for the Chiefs and made 16 starts at left tackle. He was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 28 tackle out of 83 qualifying players. 

We’ll have more on the Chiefs and Brown as the news is available.