Chiefs & LT Orlando Brown Unable To Reach Deal Before Deadline

According to Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs and LT Orlando Brown Jr. were unable to reach an agreement ahead of Friday’s franchise tag deadline and he’ll play the 2022 season on the tag. 

Kansas City used the franchise tag on Brown in March, which is projected to be $16.6 million fully guaranteed for next season. 

Earlier this week, Mike Garafolo reported that Kansas City and Brown were “nowhere close” to agreeing on a long-term deal and his holdout could potentially stretch past training camp and into Week 1 of the regular season, so this is something to keep an eye on. 

Garafolo mentioned 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 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, 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 in 2023. 

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.