Kansas City Chiefs’ Orlando Brown Jr. faces former Ravens team soon. But he’s no snitch
Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. knows a thing or two about the upcoming opponent.
He should: Brown spent three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2018-20) before the Chiefs pulled off a blockbuster trade this past offseason to acquire the two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman.
Brown certainly understands Baltimore’s offensive tendencies, so it would be natural to assume Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is in Brown’s ear to gain insight.
Well, not so fast.
“Nothing at all, man. Nothing at all,” Brown said with a grin. “I’m no snitch, man. Nothing at all.”
If Brown has provided anything of use to the Chiefs’ defensive coaching staff, he’s not saying it publicly. But he understands the Ravens know him very well and could use that to their own advantage while game-planning the left side of Kansas City’s offensive line.
“I definitely think it’s a challenge,” said Brown, the former Oklahoma Sooner who entered the league in 2018 as a third-round pick with Baltimore. “They know my strengths and my weaknesses.
“So when you’re dealing with someone like that or a team like that, or a coach or a player, obviously there are some things I’ll have to fine-tune in my game to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Brown won’t be alone in needing to fine-tune. The Chiefs will look across the field Sunday and see a lot of familiar faces.
Brown could see a lot of outside linebacker Justin Houston, who played for the Chiefs from 2011-19, earned All-Pro status in 2014 and was a four-time Pro Bowler here (2012-15). Former Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters won’t play after he suffered a season-ending torn ACL last week in practice.
When the Chiefs are on defense, they’ll become reacquainted with wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who signed a free-agent deal with Baltimore during the offseason.
And there are the coaching ties. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh served on Chiefs head coach Andy Reid’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The game within the game — on multiple fronts — doesn’t concern Reid as much as the one that will produce a final score. Toward that end, Reid believes Brown is up to the task.
“I’m sure he’ll be excited,” Reid said. “I think when it really comes down to it, though, he’s going to focus on his performance and what he needs to do to perform well. He’s a pretty mature guy that way.”
Brown admits that he will be excited when he walks into M&T Bank Stadium wearing a different team’s uniform for the first time. The venue is special to him.
He received his professional start there and he used to look down on the field from a suite to watch his father, also named Orlando, play as a member of the Ravens.
But the Chiefs left tackle won’t be thinking too much about nostalgia Sunday evening. When the uniform comes on, Brown will assume a business-like mentality.
“I’ll be very emotional, but I plan on letting my emotions play for themselves,” he said.
Just don’t expect Brown to “snitch” about the Ravens’ tendencies.
