Chiefs pull big trade for a new left tackle. Details of the deal for Orlando Brown
At long last, the Chiefs have their left tackle.
The Chiefs on Friday acquired Orlando Brown from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade that includes multiple draft picks, including the Chiefs’ first-rounder in next week’s 2021 NFL Draft, a source confirmed to The Star.
The Chiefs will trade this year’s first-, third- and fourth-round picks, along with a 2022 fifth-round pick, to the Ravens in exchange for Brown, a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 sixth-rounder.
Brown, 24, has started 42 games over the past three seasons since the Ravens selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft — though the majority of those starts came at right tackle. He slid to left tackle, the spot in which he played for the Oklahoma Sooners, after an injury to Ronnie Stanley.
The Chiefs have been in the market for a left tackle since the onset of the offseason, when they released Eric Fisher, who occupied that spot since 2014 but is recovering from an Achilles surgery.
When speaking to the media Friday before executing the trade, general manager Brett Veach emphasized the importance in “staying disciplined” after the team missed out on top free-agent target Trent Williams, who elected to remain with the San Francisco 49ers.
“We didn’t want to sign someone just to sign someone,” Veach said of the team’s response to Williams’ decision.
Brown, a 2019 and 2020 Pro Bowl selection, sought a trade from Baltimore, expressing his desire to play left tackle rather than remain on the right side. Stanley is healthy and ready to return to the blindside for the Ravens this fall.
Brown is entering the final year of his current contract. He is scheduled to count for $3.384 million against the Chiefs’ salary cap in 2021, according to Spotrac, before becoming an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Chiefs, however, would prefer to extend his stay in Kansas City.
“It’s a situation where Baltimore knows my plan isn’t to play right tackle,” Brown told NFL.com last month. “I feel more comfortable on the left side. That’s where I had played my whole life. I’m a better left tackle than right tackle.”
The Chiefs have completely revamped their offensive line after an injury-riddled group was thoroughly overmatched in the Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay. As it stands, they will have at least four new starters in the five-man unit.
The left side features a two-time Pro Bowl selection in Brown and an All-Pro in guard Joe Thuney, the Chiefs’ most expensive move of the offseason. The team has also added center Austin Blythe and right guard Kyle Long. It re-signed right tackle Mike Remmers to a one-year deal. The Chiefs are also set to welcome back right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang, both of who opted out last season and could factor into starting roles.
Niang was set to enter his rookie year. The team remains bullish on his future and his ability to play multiple positions, but he has not played a snap in the NFL. Collectively, the Chiefs’ additions will push Andrew Wylie and Nick Allegretti to backup roles after both started the majority of last season.
It’s an overhaul, as promised, that reshapes the look of the unit protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The trade for Brown also reshapes the look of next week’s draft.
Now absent a first-round pick, the Chiefs’ first selection arrives at No. 58. They will pick twice in the second round. Overall, they now hold six selections, at least for the moment — Nos. 58 and 63 in the second round, No. 144 in the fourth, Nos. 175 and 181 in the fifth and No. 207 in the sixth.
The NFL Draft runs Thursday-Saturday, though as it stands, the Chiefs will sit out opening night.
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 2:15 PM.