Patrick Mahomes is Orlando Brown’s top priority: ‘I look forward to keeping him clean’
Two-time Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was in Norman, Oklahoma, working out at the OU Sooners’ indoor training facility when his phone rang.
It was Brown’s agent on the other end of the line, with a simple question for his client.
“Are you ready to be a Chief?” his representative asked.
Brown said he was overwhelmed when he was told the Baltimore Ravens had traded him, as well as a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 sixth-round pick, to the Chiefs in exchange for Kansas City’s 2021 first-round pick, a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick and a 2022 fifth-round pick.
“It was a little hard for me to wrap my head around getting traded to a situation like this, which I think is the best in the league going from where I came from,” said Brown, who started 42 games in a Ravens uniform. “Man, it was so overwhelming emotionally. I’m so happy; I’m so blessed to be here.”
The Chiefs pulled the trigger on the deal Friday, less than a week before the 2021 NFL Draft, and in the process took care of a glaring hole on their offensive line following the release of left tackle Eric Fisher before the start of free agency.
While he mostly played right tackle in Baltimore, with the exception of filling in on the left side in 2020 because of injuries to others on the Ravens’ offensive line, the 6-foot-8, 345-pound Brown projects to start immediately at left tackle in KC.
There’s little doubt how general manager Brett Veach feels about adding Brown, who entered the league in 2018 as a third-round pick with Baltimore, to the Chiefs’ retooled offensive line.
“I’m excited we were able to come to an agreement with the Ravens to acquire Orlando Brown, one of the best offensive tackles in the National Football League.” Veach said Monday in a statement officially announcing the trade after Brown passed a physical. “He’s certainly a special kid.
“This guy is a Pro Bowl player with tremendous size, quickness and power. Not only is he physically talented, but he’s incredibly bright and will fit in well in our offensive line room. We’re thrilled to get him in a Chiefs uniform.”
The Chiefs spent the offseason addressing their front five, adding left guard Joe Thuney and offensive lineman Kyle Long during free agency, while also bringing back Mike Remmers. Thuney inked a five-year deal and Long and Remmers are signed to one-year deals.
But how long Brown, who turns 25 on May 2, remains in Kansas City after the 2021 regular season remains to seen.
The Chiefs acquired a player in the final year of his rookie deal, which pays a base salary of $3.38 million. Options include extending Brown or waiting until the end of the 2021 season to potentially use a franchise tag on him, provided Brown brings what the Chiefs expect from him.
Brown made it clear what he would like to see happen.
“I want to be here for a long time,” he said. “I do, and I want to make sure I take care of my part, and that’s handling my business on the football field.”
If Brown does his job, one of the enduring images from Super Bowl LV — quarterback Patrick Mahomes running for his life behind a patchwork offensive line throughout the Chiefs’ 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — can quickly become a thing of the past.
Brown, who said playing left tackle in the NFL has been a childhood dream, embraces the responsibility of protecting Mahomes’ blindside.
“I look forward to keeping him clean,” Brown said. “Whether he has a broken leg, healthy leg, healthy ankle, whatever the deal is, I look forward to keeping him clean.
“He shouldn’t have to run around because of me. Period.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 12:38 PM.
