MARCH 17: Brown’s guarantee numbers are in. The new Bengals left tackle’s only guarantees come via the $31.1MM signing bonus. That money is due Sunday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. He will be tied to only a $1.5MM base salary in 2023 and a $4.5MM base, along with a $4MM roster bonus, in 2024. Brown will earn $42.35MM over the deal’s first two years, Breer adds. Brown’s fully guaranteed number checks in sixth among left tackles.
Brown indicated the Chiefs’ 2022 offer did not include enough guaranteed money. While his Bengals AAV and guarantee number do not quite match the $23MM per year and $38MM fully guaranteed the Chiefs were offering, respectively, those figures were tied to a six-year proposal. Brown will be tethered to the Bengals through his age-30 season and will have a chance at another negotiation earlier than he would have had he accepted the Chiefs’ summer offer.
MARCH 15: After winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, Orlando Brown Jr. is heading to a conference foe. The free agent offensive tackle is finalizing a deal with the Bengals, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).
It will be a four-year, $64MM deal with Cincinnati, notes Pelissero. The front-loaded contract also includes a $31MM signing bonus, the largest ever for an offensive lineman. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that two-thirds of the contract is guaranteed, and the contract will only make Brown the 17th-highest-paid offensive tackle in the NFL.
Brown played out the 2022 season on the franchise tag, earning him $16.7MM. The Chiefs were rumored to be prepared to re-tag Brown, but they passed on doing so, all but ensuring that he’d hit unrestricted free agency. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that the veteran was insistent on staying at left tackle, and the Bengals will allow him to do just that.
“I’m super thankful for the opportunity to carry on my father’s legacy and be a left tackle,” Brown told Garafolo (Twitter link). “It was important to be able to play that position and play for a winning team and a winning quarterback. Who Dey!”
Brown has established himself as one of the league’s top tackles while protecting Lamar Jackson in Baltimore and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. He was traded to the Chiefs in 2021 and has earned a Pro Bowl nod in each of his two seasons with the organization. This past year, he appeared in all 17 games en route to a Super Bowl championship. Pro Football Focus graded Brown as the NFL’s 19th-best offensive tackle among 81 qualifiers, the fourth straight year he’s finished in the top-half at the position.
Last offseason, the Bengals were busy investing money in their offensive line as they looked to keep quarterback Joe Burrow upright. The team ended up signing La’el Collins, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras for a combined $21MM in guaranteed money. Those three players each contributed more than 950 offensive snaps, as did fellow starters Cordell Volson and Jonah Williams.
All of those players are still under contract, and it remains to be seen who Brown will be knocking out of the lineup. Williams was generally the team’s LT in 2022, although Collins was the tackle with the worst Pro Football Focus grade in 2022. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com tweets that the Bengals rarely bail on acquisitions after only one season, although cutting Collins would save the team $6MM against the cap.
Brown, 26, turned down the Chiefs’ extension offer at last year’s July deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign extensions. Kansas City offered Brown a six-year, $139MM deal that would have topped Trent Williams‘ $23MM-AAV record for offensive linemen. While this Cincinnati pact obviously carries a much lower AAV, Brown cited insufficient guarantees as the reason he passed on the Chiefs’ offer. The team offered Brown $52.5MM in total guarantees and $38MM fully guaranteed. Brown bet on himself, stayed healthy and landed his long-term deal. Given what the Chiefs offered last year, it will be interesting to learn the full details of Brown’s Bengals contract.
Did the Bears go into hibernation after Day 1 of Free Agency?
Well, given bears are known to hibernate, it would stand to reason they are more likely to have done this than, say, the Bengals, Eagles, Cardinals, Dolphins, Lions, etc.
Poles is saving the money he has left. It’s the smart play. He can sign guys who are cut to one year deals if he has money and he has about 30 + million to spend if you take out the 10 million it will take to sign their draft choices. That’s not counting the money he can save on his own cuts and restructuring. I have a feeling he’s reluctant to push a lot of money onto next years dead cap like he did this year. It’s more and more obvious he’s taking an OL at #9.
Sure seems this way. So much for having all that cap space. Did Reinsdorf purchase the Bears?
The Bears must now pick bith an offensive & defensive lineman with their top picks.
They apparently aren’t concerned for Fields safety. and he’s probably bummed not being reunited with his former Ohio State receiver.
I mean very rarely are you getting good deals in free agency. Good teams use free agency to plug a hole in their roster that they don’t think they can address in the draft (i.e. Day 1 starter), not spend all their cap. Plus with the ability to roll over any left over cap to next season, there is a benefit to NFL teams to leave themselves extra cap space. This also gives them plenty of room for a Fields extension if they want to commit to him long term after the season. If they signed a bunch of free agents this year, they would likely have been forced to cutting players next offseason to create cap space for free agents + draft + a Fields extension.
Also this was a team that was the worst team in the NFL last year. Sure Fields looks like a budding star QB but they’re not “one good free agency period” away from suddenly being SB contenders. This team is likely 1-2 years away from being close to a legit contender. They still have a ton of holes that need to be filled…and most of those should get filled in the draft.
Bummed? Highly doubt it. The Bears landed their #1 WR in DJ Moore who despite the lack of any type of quality QB put up very good numbers.
Sure seems this way. So much for having all that cap space. What happened, did Reinsdorf purchase the Bears?
The Bears must now pick bith an offensive & defensive lineman with their top picks.
They apparently aren’t concerned for Fields safety. and he’s probably bummed not being reunited with his former Ohio State receiver.
Bahahaha!!! He turned down 6 years and $139MM from the Chiefs so that he could test the market.
Good riddance to the 20th ranked LT in the NFL.
it’s rarely a good idea to “test the market” in NFL , unless ur current team literally doesn’t have cap space for you
NFL is all about taking the extension it seems
It doesn’t mean squat what the total number is. It’s all about the GUARANTEED money. This is 31 million guaranteed in the first 2 years so even if he’s cut, He keeps the dough and goes back on the market. You can’t comment on the turn down unless you know all the variables involved.
there’s no way a 6 year 139 million dollar contract included less than 31 mil guaranteed.
there’s also no way you can justify him being the 17th highest paid OT in the league as a win for him.
swing n a miss,.. and he’s worth what? veteran minimum in 2 years when he’s cut?
The signing bonus is $31M with $42M total guaranteed. The Chiefs offered $38M guaranteed. So yeah the Bengals offered more guaranteed money and considering that most of that is up front, its a much better deal.
Article says 38m
This contract needs to be front-loaded, as he’ll be gone once Joe Burrow gets his fifth year mega-extension.
Yep. Looks like the contract is set in a way they can dump him quickly if need be.
See ya. Turned down more guaranteed money from the Chiefs. Bahahaha. Brett Veach didn’t play JETS/RODGERS drama with this Clown Brown.
And yet he gets 31 million to sign and goes to a team that is the 1 team who can take out the chiefs and adds to their oline
And yet he becomes the 17th highest paid left tackle instead of being the number one paid left tackle like he wanted.
Good luck with him. You’ll need it.
We can win yet ANOTHER ring without him, for sure.
I get Mahomes will always lead you there and you are right, but the “YET ANOTHER” is a bit revisionist for a franchise that was the Twins to the playoffs Yankees for 30 years
YET ANOTHER – as in, we have won the Super Bowl twice in the last four years and how many Super Bowls has Cincinnati won, EVER?
Oh, that’s right…
We? Didn’t realize you suited up…
Stay humble
Yep. It’s Homerville on here.
That’s not true
Ravens and KC moved on from him and Poles knew him from KC..gets front loaded contract for less years and AAV..what does the rest of the league know?
he’s an elite RT posing as a top LT
and the scouts saw right thru it and paid him as such , more or less
KC offered to make him the highest paid LT with $40 mil guaranteed. Obviously they thought something of him to offer 6/$139.
The guy is a great player. Multi time pro bowl player … helped the Chiefs to the Super Bowl … still young… I always think it’s funny when fans from the teams he leaves get on here and talk a guy down just because he’s not you’re guy anymore. BTW , he’s ranked higher than Juwan Taylor. Never understood why someone now sucks or overrated because he’s not on you’re team anymore. Sure I’m a Bengal fan and happy to have him but I don’t think less of the guys we e lost …silly
Hey Bengals fan, do your research. It doesn’t have anything at all to do with him not being on the Chiefs anymore. It has everything to do with him being the 20th ranked left tackle in the NFL and everything to do with him having a big mouth and piss poor attitude for not being treated like the #1 left tackle. Trust me, you’ll see. Just like the rest of the league has seen.
Hey Kelce fan, let’s not forget that it took the refs to bail KC out of both the AFC CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE SUPER BOWL
Hey Kelce – I have done my research – even before that post. If he was still on you’re team stroking the refs you’d love him. Big mouth and piss poor attitude didn’t stop the Chumps from offering him huge money to stay last year …. Must not have been too bad .. anyway keep hoisting the black and white striped trophy !
Yes the CHAMPIONS offered him big money but it wasn’t even close to the money he thought he was worth and the money he wanted. The CHAMPIONS are smart about their spending habits with him and knew that he was not worth it and ultimately not going to get it. He thought differently, bet on himself and now look at the moron. He left an absolute ton of money on the table and went to a lesser team that has never once won a Super Bowl!! Hahahahahaha!!!
Keep thinking that Champion stuff bud. Paper champion for sure. With the NFL and the refs totally backing their choir boy Mahomes ( not knocking his talent, great QB) But back to back games they handed it to you with BS calls. Even to the point they were investigating. That said, I’d rather lose then win how they won. Enjoy you’re paper championship! Whodey!
No you wouldn’t. You’d take the championship and riot. Cincinnati hasn’t won anything professionally since when?
You are full of crap saying you’d rather lose. Only reason you say that is because you are used to losing
He’s ranked higher than Jawaan Taylor??
“At $20MM per year, Taylor is now the NFL’s highest-paid right tackle. He profiled as the top right-side pass protector available this year”
How can he be ranked higher when they don’t even play the same position?
Not talking about money – referring to nfl offensive tackle ranking’s statistically for 2022
I totally get the Chiefs moving on, and I don’t think Brown is an elite tackle or anything, but this also strikes me as a great move for the Bengals. It’s not outlandish money, and not only is he solidly good, but he takes the field. Mahomes helps by avoiding sacks so well, but Burrow’s improved in that regard. I wouldn’t want to commit to Brown for too long, given his size and (un)athleticism, but I have a hard time arguing with this one.
As a Bears fan I would have been happy with him at this price…. But not at the $22M+ AAV that he was reportedly asking for.
I think they would have wanted him at RT though which I guess was a deal breaker.
Could this affect Tee Higgins future? They should take the pick now.
No it is heavily front loaded
Smh…..Chiefs could have had for much more. I would have to think, guaranteed money aside, he would have gotten more from KC. Yes I know he is getting paid, but as said above, KC offered him much more last year, but this is a drop in the bucket. He bet on himself and lost long term. He is good, no doubt there, but he valued himself far higher than obviously the entire league did. He will help Cincy on the offensive line, but as a KC fan I watched him play for the last two years,he gets beat quite often for a guy who thinks he is the best. Good player, not great. Great pickup for the Bengals, glad KC didn’t give him more.
Hard for me to believe reports that the Steelers and Jets were in on signing him. Not the Steelers type of signing money-wise and tends to make me believe the smiley face approach to “an O-line that showed improvement over the last 9 games” is a statement for public consumption, but the concern is still there.
Good signing for the Bengals They need to protect Burrow
And the Jets? They must have unlimited money to spend
This is a great signing. On paper, o line might seem like a luxury, as the article said, with all 5 starters under contract and all reasonably big names I guess. But considering the injuries, that they really haven’t been good much, and how you have to protect Joe, he’s not running away like Jalen and Lamar, I love the signing. He’s not too 5 but he’s not paid like it.
Bengals gotta get a CB, but it’s likely they draft the TE and a other RB, they got 2 safeties in the draft last year, they had the money to spend.
Last point, I hope he plays all 4 years and since he’s dirt cheap the last two. And we can still sign Higgins chase and burrow since the big money he makes is off the books by the time burrow kicks in. Not to mention boyd, mixon, Henderson, and reader are too. Hope to extend reader though.
Who Dey.
Dang Chiefs must feel awful seeing this deal. I’d rather have Brown over Taylor regardless of price
As a Chiefs fan from KC anyone who puts OB down is just looking to cause silliness. He was very good in KC. 20th ranked? Who ranked him and who cares what they think? He was really good.
So statistics/facts mean nothing? He was 20th best at his position. 20th, out of 32. Throw in his mouth and “I’m #1 attitude” – so freaking glad he’s gone.
Are you citing the PFF ranking? It says 19th among 81 qualifying tackles, not just left tackles. You’re weirdly committed to this grudge against a guy who just helped your team win a super bowl.
Even your own fan base is calling BS Mr Kelce! Lol
It is likely the actual Kelce because he runs his mouth like an idiot as well.
Unless of course he wasn’t gone – then you’d be 1st in line for a high five. SMH
Sorry Kelce but it’s time to put it to rest.
I guarantee you weren’t bad mouthing him during the Super Bowl or playoffs.
The guy is gone. You don’t have to worry about him so stop whining about his mouth and going on about rankings. His 20th overall ranking still helped the Chiefs win and was a major upgrade over your previous RT and that’s all you should care about.
Move on already
You can’t guarantee anything because I’ve been complaining about this joke of a LT ever since he started making his demands to be paid as the #1 LT in the league. He’s a chump. He’s 20th best at his position. He’s replaceable.
Also I can say whatever I want about him. If you don’t like it, move on and stop being a little girl.
Brown is a good OT. Not know for his athleticism but he is smart, talented, and a huge person. Watching KC, Mahomes ability to move around in the pocket helped Brown as did a good interior OL. Bengals fans, how do you see him fitting in with your style of offense?
I think he fits in just fine. Burrow is a surgeon with enough time. Burrow has been this good with a crap line. Imagine him with a line. Bengals will be a pass happy team for the next 10 years. OB will help that for sure.
So many Orlando Brown jock sniffers on here. Do you all root for all of the loud-mouthed mediocre players? Geez.