The Kansas City Chiefs made a surprising decision on Monday afternoon, opting against using the franchise tag on Orlando Brown Jr. for a second consecutive season.
That decision reportedly came down to two things. Numerous reports have indicated the restrictive nature of the franchise tag number as a reason for the decision. Being that this would’ve been Brown Jr.’s second consecutive year on the franchise tag, he’d earn at least 120 percent of the franchise tag number from the year prior. That means the Chiefs would be committing over $20 million to Brown Jr. in fully-guaranteed money. That number was simply too high for the team to take on with their current salary cap situation. It’d prevent Brett Veach and the front office from being competitive in free agency and keeping some of their own free agents.
There’s another significant reason that the franchise tag wasn’t the amicable option for Kansa City, though. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Chiefs have the desire to figure out a long-term solution at the left tackle position this offseason. They want to know who is going to be protecting the blindside of their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Chiefs' decision to not tag Orlando Brown came down to, I'm told, their desire to lock in a long-term LT this offseason. Tagging Brown doesn't do it. It'd basically guarantee he's free in '24, make it harder to do a deal (bc of the $20M number) now.
They'll look at all options.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 6, 2023
That doesn’t just mean that Kansas City is seeking a long-term deal with Brown Jr. either. If they’re unable to come to terms on a contract extension before the legal tampering period and free agency begins next week, they’ll explore all options per Breer. It’s a weak market in free agency, so the best options might come via the draft or even in a trade scenario.
Buckle up, Chiefs fans. The offseason is about to get interesting.
