With the legal tampering period for the new league year being just a few days away (Monday, March 13), we’re starting to get a better idea as to which players are actually hitting the open market.
The franchise tag deadline is officially in the rearview mirror, therefore any expiring deals around the league will need to be extended before March 15 at 4 p.m. ET, which is the start of the new league year. Otherwise, those players will be free to sign anywhere they please.
One of the more surprising players set to hit the open market is Chiefs left tackle, Orlando Brown, who was initially expected to be tagged.
The second that it was announced that Kansas City would not be placing its tag on the Oklahoma product for a second time, Titans fans everywhere began to salivate at the mere thought of possibly acquiring him.
And Aaron Schatz of ESPN clearly agrees.
He recently posted an article discussing one free agent that each team must sign, and he had Brown as the Titans’ dream addition of the offseason. Here is what Schatz had to say about the marriage of the two:
The Titans need help in several spots, including wide receiver and linebacker, but let’s start with a left tackle to help protect Ryan Tannehill. The Titans finished 30th in pressure rate in 2022 based on ESPN Stats & Information research and last season’s left tackle, Dennis Daley, finished dead last in PRWR among qualifying tackles. Brown, by comparison, ranked 18th.
Brown will be 27 years old this coming season, and there’s still plenty of good football left for him. He would be an important building block as the Titans look to return to the postseason. He was ranked by ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen as the top free agent this year.
The soon-to-be former Chiefs tackle would instantly provide some much-needed stability at the most important position on the offensive line.
This would also allow the Titans to focus elsewhere at the top of the draft, or they could choose to double down and bolster a weak offensive line that needs all the help it can get.
Brown is coming off a season in which he finished with an overall grade of 75.8 after allowing just four sacks on 769 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
