BENGALS SIGN FOUR-TIME PRO BOWL OT ORLANDO BROWN JR.
The Cincinnati Bengals signed former Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle and Super Bowl champion Orlando Brown Jr. on Wednesday.
Brown now joins the Bengals on a four-year, $64.092 million deal that includes a $31 million signing bonus, the most ever for an offensive lineman. The deal is front-loaded, in anticipation of Joe Burrow’s mega contract extension, with 67.87% of it being fully guaranteed. Brown will earn $42.3 million through year 2 and $49.9 million through year 3. By then, Brown will be preparing for his next deal.
The deal makes “Zeus” the 17th highest-paid tackle in the NFL. The only tackle to make the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons, Brown now cashes in after a stellar season that resulted in him winning the Super Bowl in February.
The former Oklahoma Sooner allowed zero sacks at left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason in 2022 and was an integral piece to their success this past year. Brown didn’t allow a sack in the Super Bowl and allowed just one pressure on 31 pass blocking snaps. The Kansas City Chiefs offensive line would end up not allowing a single sack against the Eagles defensive line, who led the league in that category this past year.
As per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Brown was intent on playing left tackle and was adamant in conversations with the Bengals about playing the position. The Bengals allowed him to do that, which prompted Brown to switch sides to the team that the Kansas City Chiefs ousted in the AFC Championship game this year.
According to multiple reports, the Chicago Bears also offered Brown compensation in the ballpark of what the Bengals offered him, but were signing him to play at RT instead of LT. Brown declined a move to Chicago as he was only interested in playing left tackle.
The 6-foot-8, 363 pound offensive lineman was featured on ESPN’s NFL Live on Wednesday but didn’t reveal details about his then-imminent contract with the Bengals. With ESPN’s Adam Schefter previously reporting that “the league” viewed Brown as a right tackle rather than a left tackle, Brown eventually responded on Twitter after news of his deal went public, saying, “I’m a four-time Pro Bowl Super Bowl Champion left tackle. Put in on a freaking [expletive] t-shirt!”
Brown’s deal was negotiated by Delta Sports Group’s Michael Portner, whom Brown hired just nine months ago, in June of last year after the Chiefs placed their franchise tag on him. After being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018, Brown was traded to Kansas City ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft along with a second-round pick and a 2022 sixth-round pick for the Chiefs’ first-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth and a 2022 fifth-round selection.
According to multiple sources, the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers were also among the teams interested in Brown but the strong long-term guarantees by the Cincinnati Bengals put them over the top. The Bengals now strengthen their offensive line and protect Joe Burrow in what is a blockbuster signing. Two years removed from an AFC North exit, Brown is now back in the division, only this time in Cincinnati.
In other news, the Bengals hosted former Los Angeles Rams safety and Super Bowl champion Nick Scott on a free agent visit on Thursday. After losing both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency this week, the Bengals are looking to restock at safety. Scott, 27, had a career-high 86 tackles and 2 interceptions, five passes defended, and two forced fumbles in 16 starts with the Rams in 2022.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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