Oklahoma football: Former OU All-American Orlando Brown now a KC Chief
By Chip Rouse
Former Oklahoma All-American Orlando Brown Jr. is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brown, an offensive tackle, played the last three seasons with the NFL Baltimore Ravens, who drafted the former Sooner offensive tackle in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the 83rd player taken overall.
The trade with the Chiefs was announced on Friday. In exchange for Brown, the Ravens get Kansas City’s No. 31 first-round pick in next week’s 2021 NFL Draft along with a third-round pick (No. 94) and a fourth-round pick (No. 136). Baltimore also receives a fifth-round selection in next year’s NFL Draft.
In addition to Brown, who will be in his fourth NFL season, the Chiefs get the Ravens’ second-round pick (No. 58) in this year’s NFL Draft and a sixth-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The #Ravens are trading LT Orlando Brown to the #Chiefs, per me and @MikeGarafolo. A new blindside protector for Patrick Mahomes.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 23, 2021
Brown, a two-time Pro-Bowler with Baltimore, will play the all-important left-tackle position for last season’s Super Bowl runner-up Chiefs. Kansas City has been actively seeking a replacement at left tackle for Eric Fisher, who went down late last season with an Achilles injury in the AFC Championship game and has since been released by the Chiefs.
Kansas City has literally rebuilt its offensive line in the offseason, bringing in three other offensive lineman via free agency.
The irony behind Kansas City acquiring Brown is the Chiefs had made a concerted effort to land another OU All-American offensive tackle, Trent Williams, through free agency. Williams, an NFL first-round No. 4 overall selection and eight-time NFL Pro-Bowler, resigned with San Francisco, though, for an NFL record $138 million over six years for an offensive tackle.
That led the Chiefs to turn their interests toward Brown, who the Ravens had moved to the other side of the line and because of that Brown had expressed the desire to be traded. Another option available to KC was to use it’s No. 31 first-round draft spot to acquire a left tackle, but the Chiefs would not have gotten the immediate experience they now have with the acquisition of former Sooner All-American Brown.
Brown is in the fourth year of his rookie contract that pays him $3.8 million a year, so he will be a financial bargain to the Chiefs for the coming season. Kansas City will have until after the 2021 season to decide whether to award Brown a new contract.