Orlando Brown Jr. is one step closer to finally hitting unrestricted free agency. The Kansas City Chiefs are not expected to utilize the franchise tag on the star left tackle before Tuesday's deadline, according to NFL Media. While there is still time for Kansas City to exclusively hammer out a long-term deal with Brown before the start of the new league year, not tagging him does open up the possibility of a departure.
This would have been the second consecutive offseason that the Chiefs deployed the franchise tag on Brown, as they did so before free agency last year to retain him for 2022. If tagged again, he would have seen a fully guaranteed deal of around $20 million for 2023, which proved to be too rich for Kansas City.
The Chiefs have a little under a week to negotiate with Brown before the legal tampering period gets underway on Monday, March 13 at noon ET. At that point, any NFL team vying for Brown's services will be able to negotiate with his representation and agree to terms on a contract. If he were to agree to a deal that sends him out of Kansas City, Brown will not be able to actually ink that new contract until the official start of the new league year on Wednesday, March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
If he does reach the open market, Brown will be one of the most sought-after free agents this cycle. The 26-year-old is a bonafide star left tackle who just helped the Chiefs to a Super Bowl LVII title where Patrick Mahomes wasn't sacked a single time against an elite Eagles pass rush. According to Spotrac's market value projections, Brown could warrant a massive contract in the realm of five years and worth $112 million.
Brown was initially drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. He spent the first three years of his career with the organization and was eventually traded to the Chiefs in the spring of 2021, where he's since protected the blindside of Mahomes.
Brown has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past four seasons.
