Chiefs Will Make ‘Strong Attempt’ to Retain Starting Offensive Tackles

Kansas City will try to bring back the same tackles who helped them win Super Bowl LVII.

Heading into Super Bowl LVII's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the battle of the trenches was a nonstop talking point. After all, Philadelphia's pass-rushing group was easily the NFL's best during the season and flexed its muscles multiple times in the playoffs. On the other side, while Kansas City's offensive line was elite in the pass block win rate category, offensive tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie were set to have their hands full on Super Bowl Sunday.

What transpired during the biggest game of the year shocked the football world. 

The Chiefs allowed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to be pressured 25.9% of the time in the Super Bowl, but that snapped an eight-game streak the Eagles had of recording a pressure rate of at least 34% per Next Gen Stats. Additionally, Mahomes wasn't sacked a single time all night long. It was the best performance of the season for Kansas City when the team most needed it, shifting the narrative surrounding Brown and Wylie. Head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media on Tuesday and when asked about the possibility of the Chiefs re-signing both of Mahomes's perimeter protectors, he was optimistic:

"Yeah, those guys obviously had good years for us. All these contract things, I haven't gotten with (general manager Brett) Veach on at all. I kind of stay out of that world. I think both guys are very well-liked here and I'm sure that Brett will surely make a strong attempt to keep them here. We'll see how that goes."

For Brown, the four-time Pro Bowler struggled out of the gate and dealt with an early-season knee injury that hampered him at times. He surrendered far more pressures than where the pre-season bar for him was set at. Much like the previous campaign, however, he improved over the course of the year and resembled the best version of himself down the stretch. Playing on the franchise tag after his camp and the Chiefs failed to come to an agreement on a contract extension last offseason, he likely did just enough to work his way back into the long-term picture at left tackle.

Per a recent report by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, teams around the league expect Kansas City to franchise tag Brown for the second year in a row if an extension isn't worked out. If the consecutive tag comes into play on an exclusive basis, the team will be required to pay him either the average of the top-five salaries at the position or 120% of his previous year's salary (whichever is higher). 

For Brown, who earned $16.66 million on the tag in 2022-23, that can get pricey. The Spotrac calculated market value for Brown is $22.4M annually, lining up at just over $112M over the course of a five-year deal. Brown is a locker room favorite who has grown close to Mahomes since coming over via trade in 2021, so the Chiefs view him in a very positive light.

Similar to Brown, Wylie ranked at or near the top of the leaderboard for pressures surrendered among tackles this season. Considering his price point of $2.54M, though, the franchise got everything it wanted out of him and then some. Starting every game for the Chiefs this season, Wylie capped things off by stepping up and having the game of his life in the Super Bowl — the type of moment that can last in the minds of executives in Kansas City and around the league. Wylie is well-liked, as Reid mentioned, and he's also very fond of being a Chief:

Exit meetings have me in my feelings today lol. How lucky are we to have a guy like Big Red here in KC?! The last 6 years have been some of the best years of my life, all thanks to coach Reid!

— Wylie (@RealAndrewWylie) February 14, 2023

Spotrac estimates that on a three-year deal, Wylie is worth just under $14.1M. That market value ranks 37th among all offensive tackles in the league compared to Brown's No. 3 slot, which is much more affordable and makes a great deal of sense. Finding quality day-one starters at left tackle when picking dead last in the first round of the NFL Draft is nearly impossible, and it's still quite difficult on the opposite side of the line. Like the situation with Brown, the Chiefs have the incentive to make a push for re-signing Wylie despite his shortcomings leading up to the Super Bowl. Time will tell if they have either or both players on the starting offensive line in August.

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