Tag: Orlando Brown Jr.

Orlando Brown Jr. keeps Cincinnati Mayor in line for Chiefs-Bengals game announcement

The #Bengals enlisted the help of former #Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. to keep “Mayor Jabroni” in line for the AFC title game rematch announcement.

In one of the strangest bits of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals rivalry last season, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval made a cringe-worthy video that was a big talking point ahead of the AFC Championship Game.

During the Lamar Hunt Trophy presentation, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce delivered an iconic verbal beatdown of the public servant.

“I’ve got some wise words for that Cincinnati Mayor,” Kelce said. “Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni.”

Well, now it seems the Bengals are making a bit of fun of the Mayor’s misstep.

To announce their 2023 NFL season rematch with Kansas City (learn more about the game here), Cincinnati enlisted the help of ex-Chief and new Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. to keep Pureval in line. Check it out:

“The Bengals play the Chiefs Week 17. . . and I’ve got nothing else to add,” Pureval says.

“Yeah, I think that was better than the last time,” Brown Jr. declares.

It’s safe to say that the Mayor knew his role this time around. The whole interaction between Pureval and Brown Jr. had a very “Parks and Rec” vibe if you ask me.

I think the bulletin board material will be kept at a minimum early on between these two clubs. As we inch closer to their matchup on New Year’s Eve, that could certainly change.

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NFL exec saw Orlando Brown Jr. as weakest link on Chiefs’ offensive line

Did the #Chiefs happen to get rid of their weakest link on the offensive line this offseason? One anonymous NFL executive seems to think so.

An anonymous NFL executive recently praised the Kansas City Chiefs for their conviction in their handling of LT Orlando Brown Jr. this offseason.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando polled executives around the league about what they thought of all 32 NFL team’s additions and losses in free agency over the past several weeks. A comment from one of those executives on the Chiefs’ biggest offseason change was quite intriguing.

Orlando Brown Jr. did not receive the franchise tag from Kansas City and this particular NFL executive credited the Chiefs for that decision.

“I give them credit for not (franchise) tagging Orlando Brown and not spending dollars on him,” an exec said, “because he was probably the weakest link on their line last year. It seems like they figured out as long as you protect Mahomes, nothing else matters. It is probably true.”

It’s hard to envision the Chiefs in a better spot without their two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, but this particular executive seems to suggest addition via subtraction. K.C. didn’t overpay for the player viewed as their weakest link on the offensive line and that’s good business.

The comments from another anonymous executive on Brown Jr. seemed to suggest that the league-wide sentiments on the now-Bengals left tackle are a mixed bag. Even after back-to-back Pro Bowl campaigns, they didn’t view him as a blue-chip left tackle in the NFL.

“Problem is, I think (Brown) is a right tackle,” another exec said. “I think he played his best football in Baltimore’s system because he was protected. In terms of being a true blue-chip left tackle, I don’t see it. But he could look better in Cincy because Burrow gets the ball out faster than (Patrick) Mahomes.”

Everyone that Sando spoke to seemed to feel the Chiefs were in good shape for the future. That said, they didn’t acknowledge that there’s some projection on the offensive line heading into 2023. Jawaan Taylor is coming in and potentially making a switch from right tackle to left tackle, which isn’t a small task. I’d be curious to hear what those same executives thought about that decision alone.

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Travis Kelce mourns Chiefs’ free agency losses of Mecole Hardman, Orlando Brown Jr.

“It hurts to lose the good guys,” #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce said.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is coming to terms with losing some of his friends on the team during the course of the 2023 NFL free agency period.

Speaking with his brother, Jason Kelce, on their “New Heights Show” podcast this past week, the two recapped some recent moves in free agency. Travis spoke about the Chiefs losing former 2019 second-round draft pick Mecole Hardman, who signed with the New York Jets in free agency.

“I know the Chiefs have been making some moves and we lost a good guy,” Travis Kelce said. “We lost a good guy, man. We lost one of the good guys. Mecole Hardman. My brother went over to the New York Jets. Mecole ‘The Jet’ Hardman is now playing for the Jets. He is who he plays for. One of the fastest guys in the league, my dog Mecole, man. It hurts to lose the good guys. I miss him already.”

Travis said he hadn’t asked Hardman about the Aaron Rodgers situation and whether it played a role in his free agency decision. Perhaps we’ll hear about that in a future episode.

In addition to mourning Hardman’s departure, Travis also took a moment to mourn the “Legion of Zoom” wide receiver room comprised of Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson.

“You tweeted out over the weekend that the ‘Legion of Zoom’ is no more,” Jason Kelce said.

“It is no more,” Travis responded. “I’m the only zoom left.”

“You weren’t part of the zoom, Trav,” Jason joked.

“Well, you win some, you lose some,” Travis said with a big sigh.

During last week’s episode, Travis also took a moment to mourn the loss of another important teammate as LT Orlando Brown Jr. signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. This one hurt Kelce in particular because of the destination.

“It hurts. It hurts my soul, man. Hurts my soul. It’s like watching your best friend just turn evil on you,” Travis Kelce said. “It’s tough man. Obviously, I mean, the past like two years we’ve struggled beating the Bengals. So, there’s been a lot of like build up in emotion of like, I would say, not necessarily hate but just like dislike towards the Bengals because they keep beating us, and they keep talking about it every time they do. So, it’s like, to see him go to the dark side man, it’s an awkward feeling. Obviously, I hope that he has an absolute Hall of Fame career. You know what I mean? I wish nothing but the best for (Orlando Brown). He was an unbelievable leader. An unbelievable teammate on and off the field. We’ve got countless memories that I’ll cherish.”

Kelce is the longest-tenured player on the team, so he’s seen plenty of players come and go. It might lessen the blow slightly, but it can’t be easy seeing the brothers you’ve won a Super Bowl alongside leave for another team.

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How Sports Illustrated grades Bengals free agency so far

Here’s how one major outlet grades Cincinnati’s trip to free agency.

With free agency well underway and many big names signed, the Cincinnati Bengals have made some big moves, most notably OT Orlando Brown Jr., safety Nick Scott and TE Irv Smith Jr.

Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated has given the Bengals a free agency grade of an A minus. They are one of only three teams he gave this high of a grade.

Here’s what Manzano said about the Bengals grade:

The surprise signing of Brown was enough to make the Bengals winners in free agency. Brown’s presence will allow Joe Burrow time to push the ball downfield to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati lost both its starting safeties in Bates and Bell, but added a savvy veteran in Scott.

There is still a lot of offseason to go, but the Bengals have done about as well as they could have so far. Like Manzano said, signing Brown was very big for them, so the offseason will be thought of as a success regardless, but there are still areas they could improve.

The next step will be attacking more needs in the draft that is creeping up quickly, now less than a month away.

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Bengals OT Jonah Williams was ‘blindsided’ by Orlando Brown signing

The Bengals didn’t reach out to Jonah Williams before making the move.

The situation between offensive tackle Jonah Williams and the Cincinnati Bengals now has a little more context to it thanks to a new report.

According to Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals didn’t reach out to Williams before signing Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency with the intention of the new arrival taking his spot on the line:

The Bengals didn’t communicate with Jonah before they were planning to sign Orlando Brown. He was blindsided. The team didn’t tell him ahead of time they were thinking of moving him to RT, a source close to the situation tells me.

This is a good example of the NFL being a harsh business despite it making plenty of sense. Teams aren’t obligated to inform a player they are making an addition at their position.

And specifically in this situation, the Bengals didn’t even consider Brown, thinking he was out of their price range. It was actually Brown’s camp that reached out to the Bengals first and a deal came together fast.

The Bengals intend for Williams to make the shift to right tackle and compete to start there on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract that makes him north of a $12 million cap hit next season.

While head coach Zac Taylor has stressed his desire to have Williams at right tackle in 2023, reports have said the trade market for him has heated up.

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PFF details what Bengals are getting in Orlando Brown Jr.

What PFF’s numbers and analysis say about Orlando Brown’s arrival.

The Cincinnati Bengals made a big splash in free agency by signing OT Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64.1 million deal on March 16.

This move came after multiple seasons of struggling to protect Joe Burrow, which was highlighted most recently in the 23-20 AFC Championship loss against Brown’s former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, when Burrow was sacked five times.

Here’s what Dalton Wasserman at PFF thinks of the move for Brown:

Brown gives the Bengals a proven pass protector with playoff experience who just won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has never earned a pass-blocking grade below 74.4 in any of his five seasons in the NFL, and his 76.8 grade in 2022 was far superior to the mark put up by Bengals left tackle Jonah Williams (62.8).

Brown allowed just four sacks across 893 pass-blocking snaps in 2022 and was at his best down the stretch. From Week 11 through the Super Bowl, his 79.0 overall grade and 85.5 pass-blocking grade were top-12 marks among players at the position.

Also highlighted by Wasserman is that this move importantly gives the Bengals much more freedom in the draft, allowing them to look at different positions early on if that’s what they want to target.

Wasserman said that by PFF’s rankings, Burrow is the best QB in the league in terms of passing from a clean pocket since he was drafted with a 96.0 grade. Brown will help Burrow have the opportunity to do so more often.

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Around the North: Bengals OT Jonah Williams requests trade after signing of Orlando Brown Jr.

The Bengals shopped for a new left tackle, leaving their current one less than pleased.

As the Cleveland Browns get better in free agency, division rivals are looking to do the same. And one way the Cincinnati Bengals are looking to improve is by bolstering their protection around quarterback Joe Burrow. This is why they went out and signed left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to a big deal. However, their current left tackle and former first round pick Jonah Williams is less than impressed with the move.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport, Williams has now requested a trade from the Bengals after the team actively pursued his replacement. Can the Bengals salvage things with Williams and ask him to kick inside to guard or will he want to retain his tackle market entering the last year of his contract?

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Former Ravens OT Orlando Brown Jr. shares thoughts on QB Lamar Jackson

Former Ravens tackle Orlando Brown Jr. gave his opinion on Lamar Jackson

While the Baltimore Ravens have been quiet so far in free agency the team has been one of the most talked about franchises of the offseason, and for good reason. The circumstances surrounding their negotiations with quarterback Lamar Jackson remain mired in mystery, and as time passes, it seems that an extension for the MVP signal caller will continue to be a hot topic for the foreseeable future.

Former Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. made his feelings on the matter known in an ESPN interview on Thursday. He told the crew on “Get Up” that he believes Jackson deserves a fully guaranteed contract, saying that his status, his ability his leadership and his qualities off of the field make him qualified for fully-guaranteed money.

“His status, his ability, the things that he’s shown as a leader, his qualities off the field, I don’t know if there’s anybody more deserving right now,” Brown said. “I personally believe he definitely deserves a fully-guaranteed deal.”

Brown just signed a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals that provided generous guarantees and seems to think that Jackson deserves every bit as much, if not more than he got. Negotiations with Jackson are ongoing, and with no end in sight, Ravens fans will have to wait to see just how much money Baltimore will be willing to shell out to keep their franchise quarterback under center for years to come.

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Chiefs free agent LT Orlando Brown Jr. finalizing four-year contract with Bengals

Former #Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. has officially found a new team in the AFC conference.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ left tackle of the past two seasons has found a new home in free agency.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, former Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. will sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s currently finalizing a four-year contract worth over $64 million with a signing bonus of $31 million, which is the largest ever for an offensive lineman.

That’s still quite a bit less than the six-year extension worth up to $139 million that the Chiefs reportedly offered Brown Jr. a year ago. It seems that he might have overplayed his hand in negotiations with Kansas City, just a bit.

Brown, 26, was a former trade acquisition by Kansas City via the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2021 NFL season. He wanted an opportunity to play the left tackle position and the Chiefs gave him just that with 39 starts (incl. postseason) over the past two years. In his first full season starting at left tackle, Brown allowed six sacks, 45 pressures and seven penalties on the year (via PFF). In his second season, he totaled four sacks, 58 pressures and seven penalties again (via PFF).

Now, he’ll go to an AFC rival in free agency, with an opportunity to play against the team that drafted him twice a year. He’ll also get an opportunity to play against Kansas City during the regular season and potentially during the playoffs.

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The 20 best remaining players after Day 2 of NFL free agency

It’s Day 3 of free agency. A franchise LT and safety are somehow STILL available.

Fun fact: The NFL’s negotiation window might begin on Monday, with most free-agent players locked in immediately. But the new league year doesn’t actually start until today!

It’s wild to think about after seeing all these underrated trades and handsome contracts fly around, right? (Also, it’s funny knowing most of these moves aren’t 100 percent official and can technically fall through at any time.)

However, despite most of the free agent field being combed through this year, many franchise players and stars remain available. To be quite honest with you: I don’t know why. But I’ve never professed to know precisely how an NFL GM thinks.

As Day 3 of free agency rolls on, here’s an overview of the 20 top unsigned players left. (Note: I’ve said before they’ll likely not last much longer on the open market. But nothing seems assured anymore.)