Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown plans to be back on the field with his teammates this week, ESPN reported.
That means the Kansas City offensive line anchor will report to training camp and sign his franchise tender, guaranteeing his one-year salary of $16.662 million for the 2022 season.
Brown, 26, started 16 games for the Chiefs last season and was voted to his third straight Pro Bowl.
Both sides worked feverishly into July but missed the mid-month deadline to work out a long-term deal. According to multiple reports, the Chiefs put a contract worth $139 million on the table that included guarantees totaling $55 million and a $30.25 million signing bonus. But Brown, per ESPN, rejected that offer because no guaranteed money went beyond the second year of the deal.
Acquired before the 2021 NFL Draft from the Baltimore Ravens, Brown was drafted as a right tackle but jumped to the left side when Ronnie Stanley (ankle) suffered an injury. With Stanley due back and Brown established on the left side, he requested a trade that would allow him to stay on the blindside.
The Chiefs jumped at the chance, coming off of a Super Bowl blocking debacle in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers annihilated Patrick Mahomes behind a largely second-string offensive line. Primary left tackle Eric Fisher missed the Super Bowl with a torn Achilles and didn’t re-sign.
Brown is eligible for unrestricted free agency but can be kept on the franchise tag again in March 2023, guaranteeing him a one-year salary equal to the average of the top-five base salaries at the position.
–Field Level Media