Chiefs’ Orlando Brown Jr. agrees to four-year deal with Bengals. Here are the details
The Chiefs-Bengals rivalry just added some intensity.
Kansas City left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has agreed to a free-agent deal with Cincinnati, a source familiar with the situation confirmed with The Star Wednesday night. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported the agreement.
Brown’s deal, according to Pelissero, is a four-year, $64.092 million pact; it also includes a $31 million signing bonus, the largest ever for an offensive lineman.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that 67.87% of Brown’s $64.092 million is fully guaranteed, including $42.3 million through the second year and $49.9 million through Year 3.
The deal is to play left tackle. Brown spoke with NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo shortly after the signing.
“I’m super thankful for the opportunity to carry on my father’s legacy and be a left tackle,” Brown told Garofolo. “It was important to be able to play that position and play for a winning team and a winning quarterback. Who Dey!”
Brown played left tackle for the Chiefs the last two seasons after KC traded multiple draft picks — including a first-rounder — to acquire him from the Baltimore Ravens in 2021.
Last week, the Chiefs signaled their intentions to potentially move on from Brown when they decided not to place a franchise tag on him; that allowed him to negotiate with all 32 teams.
Then, earlier this week, KC agreed to a four-year, $80 million free-agent deal with Jacksonville right tackle Jawaan Taylor, while indicating the team believed he could move to the left side.
Brown has been adamant about remaining at left tackle because of his history. His late father Orlando Sr., who played offensive lineman for nine years in the NFL, told his Orlando Jr. he’d only sign him up for middle-school football years back if he promised to play left tackle and also reach the NFL.
The Bengals appear ready to keep him in that position after facing multiple issues with their O-line the last few seasons.
KC-Cincinnati has already been one of the NFL’s best feuds in recent years. The Bengals defeated the Chiefs three consecutive times the last two seasons — including in the 2022 AFC Championship Game — before KC snapped that skid with a 23-20 win on Jan. 30 in this season’s AFC Championship Game.
The Chiefs previously tried to work out a long-term deal with Brown last summer. However, the two sides failed to get an extension done by the July 15 deadline, with Brown playing the season on the franchise tag.
Back then, Garafalo reported, citing a source, that the Chiefs offered Brown $91 million over five years ($18.2 million annually, an amount that would’ve ranked sixth among NFL left tackles and eighth among all tackles). A sixth year at the back end of the contract would’ve ostensibly been worth $40 million-plus, Garafalo wrote, citing the source, but was never meant to be paid; instead, it would’ve served as an artificial way for Brown to say he’d signed the largest contract for a tackle in terms of average annual value.
Rapoport reported Wednesday that Brown’s deal with the Bengals will make him the 17th-highest-paid tackle.
Brown sent out a tweet directed to Chiefs fans late Wednesday.
“To KC: I’m forever thankful!!” he wrote.
This story was originally published March 15, 2023 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Orlando Brown Jr. agrees to four-year deal with Bengals. Here are the details."
