Vincent Frank
When the Kansas City Chiefs acquired lef tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in a blockbuster trade with the Baltimore Ravens last spring, the expectation was that he’d be a franchise blindside protector for Patrick Mahomes.
At least initially, Brown Jr. proved to be more than up to the task in his first season with Kansas City. Spearheading a revamped offensive line, he helped a unit that yielded just 28 sacks of Mahomes in 17 games.
Now potentially set to hit the free-agent market, there’s a strong likelihood that Brown will have the franchise tag placed on him.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach all but guaranteed that when speaking to the media from the site of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, calling it “likely” if a long-term deal can’t get done by the deadline.
Related: 5 NFL players likely to receive the franchise tag
What will Orlando Brown Jr. cost the Kansas City Chiefs under the franchise tag?
The projected cap number for offensive linemen who find themselves franchise tagged is $16.7 million. Interestingly enough, said tag does not seperate offensive tackles from guards and centers.
That’s going to have a large impact on how Brown Jr. receives being franchised. The highest-paid left tackle in the NFL in terms of average annual salary is Trent Williams followed by David Bakhtiari and Laremy Tunsil in the $20-plus million club.
- Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers: $23.01 million
- David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers: $23 million
- Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans: $22 million
- Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore Ravens: $19.75 million
- Kolton Miller, Las Vegas Raiders: $18 million
It goes without saying that Orlando Brown Jr. would be vastly underpaid if he was forced to play under the franchise tag in 2022.
Coming off his third consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, Brown has proven himself to be among the best left tackls in the NFL since moving from the right side of the line.
Brown, 25, committed three total penalties while playing in al 1,128 of Kansas City’s offensive snaps in 2021. He yielded six total sacks during that span.
Impact on Kansas City Chiefs salary cap by franchising Orlando Brown Jr.
That’s a big backdrop here. While Brown would likely earn $22 million annually on a long-term deal, said contract would cost less against the cap in 2022 than the franchise tag.
Right now, Kansas City is $11.5 million under the cap. It will need to re-sign star safety Tyrann Mathieu on a deal that should surpass $15 million annually. Meanwhile, there’s talk that Kansas City will either trade or release edge rusher Frank Clark to save another $13.6 million against the cap.
Either way, being forced to place the franchise tag on Brown Jr. would handcuff the team big time moving forward in the offseason.
