Former Chiefs OT Orlando Brown Jr., Bengals Reportedly Agree to 4-Year, $64M Contract

Orlando Brown Jr. is off to a rival of his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

The four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle finally secured a long-term deal from the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, signing a four-year, $64 million contract.

The Chiefs ensured Brown would play for them in 2022 by using their franchise tag on him before the March 8 deadline last offseason.

Despite the two sides being unable to reach an agreement on a long-term contract before the July 15 deadline, Brown reported to training camp and signed his one-year tender worth $16.7 million on Aug. 2 after a brief holdout.

"I want to be here," Brown told reporters on his first day back. "I want to finish my career here in Kansas City. I'm sure questions are out there, but to me, with the contract situation, it just wasn't enough guarantees."

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Kansas City's final offer to Brown last year was six years, $139 million, with $95 million paid out in the first five years and a $30.25 million signing bonus.

Speaking to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo in March 2022, former NFL player Jammal Brown, a mentor to Orlando Brown, said the Baltimore native would wait to sign the franchise tender until he decided whether to represent himself or hire an agent.

"He wants to be in Kansas City and wants to sign a long-term deal there," Jammal said. "He wants Kansas City to understand he's the type of player who can be there for the rest of his career. He's a cornerstone left tackle."

Brown was a key acquisition for the Chiefs in April 2021 as they rebuilt their offensive line. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, which selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. After playing sparingly through the first six games of his rookie season, he moved into the starting lineup in Week 7 and never looked back. He has started 75 of 76 regular-season games since that time.

Brown originally played right tackle for the Ravens, but he moved to left tackle in 2020 after Ronnie Stanley suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 8.

Since the Ravens had Stanley entrenched on the left side, Brown was dealt to the Chiefs along with two draft picks in exchange for four draft picks, including Kansas City's first-rounder in 2021 (No. 31 overall). He started 16 of 17 games for the Chiefs in the regular season and was named to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season.

Based solely on the price Kansas City paid to get Brown from the Ravens, it seemed unlikely the team was going to let him leave as a free agent after just two seasons. He was also a key starter on their offensive line as the Chiefs made a run to the Super Bowl, culminating with a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles to win their second title in four years.

Per ESPN.com, Kansas City's offensive line had the best pass-block win rate (75 percent) and third-best run-block win rate (74 percent) during the 2022 season.

Things ultimately wound up working mostly in Brown's favor, as he signed a lucrative deal in Cincinnati, albeit one that didn't touch the reported offer the Chiefs made him a year ago. Joe Burrow will be happy to have him, though.