Adam Schefter: Orlando Brown Jr. Viewed as Right Tackle by NFL

Brown reportedly isn't seen by the league how many believed he'd be heading into the 2023 offseason.

The 2023 NFL offseason is in full swing, and so is free agency. Unrestricted free agents' camps have been free to negotiate with teams since the legal tampering period opened on Monday at noon ET, and the Kansas City Chiefs had multiple players hitting the open market this week. Because of a failure to reach a prior agreement on a long-term contract extension, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was one of them.

As of the publishing of this article, less than 24 hours before the new league year begins on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, Brown remains unsigned by any NFL team. The Chiefs have made a concerted effort to replace him already, being set to add former Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Jawaan Taylor into the fold on a four-year deal. In a recent appearance on ESPN's NFL Live program, Adam Schefter discussed Brown's situation and how things got to where they were as of Tuesday afternoon: 

"Essentially, it was a case where I think that Orlando Brown Jr. was talking to the Chiefs, a deal didn't get done, the Chiefs moved on with Jawaan Taylor and now Orlando Brown is looking to find a new home. The Bears were in on Mike McGlinchey and didn't get him, he went to Denver. Chicago would seem to make a lot of sense, but he wants a lot of money and some teams were thinking in other areas." 

The Chiefs offered Brown a six-year contract extension worth $139 million an offseason ago, but concerns about the deal's guarantees led to Brown having to play on the franchise tag for the 2022 campaign. His production was mixed over the next several months, though, as he allowed more pressures than any offensive tackle in the league and was Pro Football Focus' No. 31-ranked tackle in pass blocking grade for the year. Brown had some better moments with improved play down the stretch but even in the playoffs, he was far too inconsistent to justify a market-defining extension. The Chiefs, sticking to their guns, didn't tag him and instead allowed him to hit the open market as a free agent.

Brown is a four-time Pro Bowler, making it twice as a member of the Baltimore Ravens and twice in Kansas City. He was a right tackle for Baltimore back in 2019 and performed quite well in year No. 2 on the job, later spending time at both tackle spots in 2020. The Chiefs traded for him in advance of the 2021 NFL Draft and opted to make him their (temporary) go-to option on the left side of the line, although his production came and went for stretches. In a plot twist, Schefter said on NFL Live that one of the reasons why Brown didn't cash in on a massive contract early in free agency was because the league views him as of a right tackle rather than a left tackle: 

"The league views him as a right tackle and he wants to be paid as a left tackle. That also enters into it — there's a whole host of factors here that are playing in. I'll say this also: If you're a free agent, a top free agent, your deal needs to be agreed to, almost always, on the first day of free agency. If it's not agreed to on the first day, from there, the prices usually begin to slide down."

If that viewpoint on the NFL's behalf is indeed true, it's not too difficult to at least partially justify. Brown is a poor athlete by Relative Athletic Score standards and struggled at times to form a compatible duo with Patrick Mahomes, a mobile quarterback who drops deep into the pocket on occasion. It was an unnatural fit, and one that brought into question his ability to be worthy of a top-shelf investment at the position. Kansas City opted against locking him up long-term, and the rest of the league didn't budge in the opening day-plus of the legal tampering period. Brown is expected to join the NFL Live crew on Wednesday afternoon, which could help provide some added clarity and/or perspective.

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