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 while all but ensuring that he’d hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. 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.