Nate Taylor: Chiefs expected to franchise OBJ again [not happening]

[The Franchise]

Brown is technically the Chiefs’ top free agent, though for the second consecutive year, he might never reach the open market. Similar to last year, the Chiefs are expected to place the franchise tag on Brown, which will prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Such a move will allow both parties more time to negotiate a lucrative contract extension. If the parties cannot agree to a deal by the middle of July, Brown would once again be restricted to a one-year salary of $18.4 million, according to Over The Cap.

https://theathletic.com/4161606/2023...3&redirected=1

The Athletic's Nate Taylor writes the Chiefs are "expected" to place the franchise tag on LT Orlando Brown again.

Brown played on the tag last year, briefly threatening to not report to camp before showing up on time. Since coming over for the Ravens in a trade, Brown has been stellar if not exceptional, and would probably profile as one of the five best free agents on the market if he got there. Taylor also writes that Brown turned down a six-year, $139 million deal with a $30.25 million signing bonus last offseason.

Not really new news...but he won't be hitting the open market at least.

Originally Posted by ShowtimeSBMVP

In a surprise twist, the Chiefs will not be franchise tagging left tackle Orlando Brown, per source. He’s set to be a free agent March 13. The player has been notified.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 6, 2023

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by O.city

Usually once you let a guy hit the market....he ain't coming back.

Hello- Trent Williams

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

Hello- Trent Williams

Almost didn't work out for them.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by 493rd

Chiefs had Brown for 2 seasons and gave up multiple draft picks to get him. LTs don’t just fall off trees for the taking in FA and finding a good one in the draft usually means you’re drafting in the upper-half. No reason to believe Veach doesn’t have a plan here, but it’s a big risk regardless to not franchise him again.

Gave: 1.31, 3rd, 4th, Next year 5th
Got: Brown, 2nd, 2022 6th

Yes, they moved 4 picksa for a player and 2 picks. So I guess you can consider they gave up 2 picks for him. They also can be considered to have "moved up" 40+ places from their 3rd to the 2nd in the deal.

The deal paid itself off, easily.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by tredadda

I honestly think they are. If I am wrong then I will own it. This is our second offseason with him and he’s still not signed. I just don’t believe that he will offer Brown what Brown wants and the signs make it seem like neither side will budge.

The thing is, they didn't tag him so he's free to test the market. If he's not worth top LT money, the market is going to absolutely tell him that.

NOBODY is going to offer Brown what he WANTS.

I'm not saying that he's coming back but nobody is really acknowledging that it's even a possibility. It absolutely is.

[dirk digler]

Nothing earth shattering in this

How the Chiefs, Orlando Brown reached a likely separation — and where they go from here

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...#storylink=cpy

Three weeks ago, as Chiefs players paraded down Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City, left tackle Orlando Brown wore a black shirt with white lettering, its message intended for anyone willing to listen.

0 sacks. Put it on a (bleeping) shirt.

Three weeks and a couple of days ago, Brown anchored an offensive line that had its best game on the biggest stage — holding the Eagles’ top-ranked pass rush to, well, zero sacks in a Super Bowl LVII win.

But today? In early March?

We’ve arrived at the luxury tax of the success.

Brown is set to test free agency next week after the Chiefs declined to place the franchise tag on him and instead pushed him toward the open market. The two sides had engaged in long-term contract negotiations as far back as a year ago, but some 20 games and a Super Bowl title later, little has changed in either stance.

Brown is an individual case, but there is perhaps no better symbol of the new world in which the Chiefs now operate. Because they would like to have Brown back. And he wants to return.

Yet here the Chiefs sit, willfully pointing him in the direction of free agency, where player destinations and starting points don’t typically align. The Chiefs technically have exclusive negotiating rights for another week, but the plan is to allow the rest of the league to weigh into this conversation.

This is who the Chiefs are now, and in some cases who they have to be — unwilling to stretch their budget, even if it means retaining their own. Even if it’s one of their own they actually want back.

The Chiefs have just four players scratching the ceiling of their respective positional compensation — quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones and left guard Joe Thuney. Would anyone argue those four aren’t still among the very best at their positions?

The Chiefs aren’t there with Brown. They agree he is a valuable piece. Mahomes’ $49 million cap number is a factor, though not the only factor as they take a step back and ask:

How valuable?

That’s a question the Chiefs will allow the remaining 31 teams to answer. And this won’t be the last time they do it. It is a recent trend, not an outlier. It’s the long-term over the short-term solution.

Brown, who turns 27 in two months, should eagerly await the reply, by the way. He will enter free agency as the best left tackle in a thin market and has been selected to Pro Bowls in each of his seasons in Kansas City after serving as a Pro Bowl right tackle in Baltimore. Some team out there is likely willing to pay him like it. Why should he settle for less? Rather, why settle for a lot less?

There doesn’t have to be a bad guy in every team and player divorce, because the Chiefs’ ability to pay does not equate to another team’s ability to pay or even their willingness to pay. Brown was ranked as the 10th-best left tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus among the 28 who played at least half their team’s snaps in 2022. There were 19 left tackles who recorded at least 1,000 snaps; Brown had 114 more than any of them, and he still tied for the third fewest sacks allowed (four) among that group.

Brown got a bad rap at times in Kansas City because the start was dicey, though the Chiefs spent a first-round pick to acquire him, and that appropriately entails a stiff grading curve. But he is a better than average left tackle. Nearly top-third of the league, if you’re inclined to follow the PFF scouting. He is a well-liked teammate, an outgoing and infectious personality. He now has a Super Bowl ring, too.

That type of resume doesn’t frequently roam the roads of free agency, but when it does, those players usually get paid above their means, then gradually fall down the ladder as other contracts top them. The compensation packages are rarely orderly. That’s how this works. The Chiefs didn’t want to spend even a year or two at the top of that rung.

But there is no reason why Brown shouldn’t ask for top dollar, because it takes only one team to climb on board. And if you’re in need of a left tackle this year, your data is going to point to Brown.

The NFL will dictate his price, not the Chiefs, who have not budged since last offseason’s stance of going light on the guaranteed money over a long-term deal. Brown has played another Pro Bowl season and ended this one with a ring. The Chiefs’ value of the player remains unchanged, independently of the salary cap, though the salary cap is not exactly a non-factor in their blueprints.

To the end, that entire mixture prompts a likely separation, even if both sides have agreed to leave the door open.

What next?

It’s actually hard to envision the Chiefs lining up a better left tackle in Week 1 than Brown, though it’s wiser to make this decision now, when free agency, trade opportunities and the NFL Draft occupy the meat of a sandwich covered by the actual games. The market is bare outside of Brown.

Some of the Chiefs’ decisions in the Patrick Mahomes Era will be driven by best option, others by most cost-effective option. It would not be out of Brett Veach’s personality to scour the trade market. He comes equipped with a surplus of picks.

Looking for, well, what he is likely on the verge of losing.

If the price is right.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing is, they didn't tag him so he's free to test the market. If he's not worth top LT money, the market is going to absolutely tell him that.

NOBODY is going to offer Brown what he WANTS.

I'm not saying that he's coming back but nobody is really acknowledging that it's even a possibility. It absolutely is.

Hard to say. The Bears very well could. They have the cap space and the need. Do they want to pay a top 10 LT like he's top 2? I guess we'll see. But they could want to put as much talent around Fields as possible while not having to take a LT with their top pick.

[Dunerdr]

Originally Posted by The Franchise

Almost didn't work out for them.

Wish it didnt lol.

[O.city]

I think it's smart to do it now. Give yourself every option available in March vs knowing this is the way it goes in August.

[BossChief]

Veach is probably also considering that the team that signs him is another team in front of us that’s not looking for a LT in the draft and that of OBJ signs elsewhere for top dollar that earns us a premium comp pick in next years draft.

[Balto]

8. T ORLANDO BROWN JR.
2023 team prediction: New England Patriots
The Patriots are expected to let 2018 first-round pick tackle Isaiah Wynn walk in free agency after a tumultuous 2022 campaign, and Trent Brown is not a long-term solution at either tackle spot but can hypothetically slide back over to the right side.

It’s possible the Chiefs place a second consecutive franchise tag on Brown and/or work out a multi-year deal, but Patrick Mahomes’ elite ability to not let pressures become sacks makes it unnecessary to make a top-of-market investment on the blindside.

Brown didn’t really do much to change his perception this year; he is a good but not great tackle. New England has been aggressive in free agency in recent years and is desperate for help at the position, though. Brown earned a 60.0-plus pass-blocking grade in every 2022 contest from Week 5 on, with 11 grades above 70.0 over the stretch. He’d be a massive addition to this Patriots tackle group.

[Wisconsin_Chief]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing is, they didn't tag him so he's free to test the market. If he's not worth top LT money, the market is going to absolutely tell him that.

NOBODY is going to offer Brown what he WANTS.

I'm not saying that he's coming back but nobody is really acknowledging that it's even a possibility. It absolutely is.

Have you witnessed a standard NFL free agency before? Have you looked at the kind of cap room some of these bottom feeding teams have and the holes they have at LT?

Someone is absolutely paying Brown what he wants, or at the very least more than we’re willing to pay. It’s going to be a shitty organization, and he’ll come out and say he didn’t do it for the money, and is excited about helping whatever shitty organization it is that chooses to overpay him.

I’ve said this before, Brown’s value to this team is far different than it would be to teams who employ a more run heavy scheme. He’s a 27 year old 3 time Pro Bowl LT. He’s getting a massive deal, but it’s not going to be from us.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin_Chief

Have you witnessed a standard NFL free agency before? Have you looked at the kind of cap room some of these bottom feeding teams have and the holes they have at LT?

Someone is absolutely paying Brown what he want, or at the very least more than we’re willing to pay.. It’s going to be a shitty organization, and he’ll come out and say he didn’t do it for the money, and is excited about helping whatever shitty organization it is that chooses to overpay him.

I’ve said this before, Brown’s value to this team is far different than it would be to teams who employ a more run heavy scheme. He’s a 27 year old 3 time Pro Bowl LT. He’s getting a massive deal, but it’s not going to be from us.

The first part in bold is not true. The 2nd part is.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing is, they didn't tag him so he's free to test the market. If he's not worth top LT money, the market is going to absolutely tell him that.

NOBODY is going to offer Brown what he WANTS.

I'm not saying that he's coming back but nobody is really acknowledging that it's even a possibility. It absolutely is.

Agreed completely. While the possibility of him coming back exists, it is slim in my humble opinion. There will be multiple GMs out there willing to pay him much closer to what he wants because they will look at his Pro Bowls and this SB performance. They will overlook all the bad things about him. They can and will offer him more than he deserves and that KC is willing to pay.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Wisconsin_Chief

’ve said this before, Brown’s value to this team is far different than it would be to teams who employ a more run heavy scheme. He’s a 27 year old 3 time Pro Bowl LT.

I don't believe this to be the case at all.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The thing is, they didn't tag him so he's free to test the market. If he's not worth top LT money, the market is going to absolutely tell him that.

NOBODY is going to offer Brown what he WANTS.

I'm not saying that he's coming back but nobody is really acknowledging that it's even a possibility. It absolutely is.

I think he’s gone. They met with his agent yesterday and pretty much said that much.

We just aren’t offering him what he wants. Some team will give him his gaurantees that he wants. It just won’t be us