The Baltimore Ravens made the right choice in letting go of offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in 2021, and that decision is only aging better with time.
With only a few days left for franchise-tagged players to work out a deal with their respective teams, there appears to be a stalemate in Kansas City, one that the Ravens can sit back and happily watch.
Former Ravens tackle Orlando Brown was slapped with a franchise tag by the Kansas City Chiefs but has so far refused to sign his tag tender.
The Chiefs and Brown are rapidly trying to get a long-term extension done, yet sources say the parties are nowhere close to a deal and Brown is expected to hold out of his team’s upcoming training camp.
Eric DeCosta absolutely deserves a pat on the back for this one. Baltimore already got a solid draft haul in return for Orlando Brown, but seeing Brown hold all the cards and demand more money from his current team? Exactly like they predicted just over a year ago?
Baltimore has something to say to Kansas City, and it’s this: We told you so.
Orlando Brown has KC over a barrel, and he knows it.
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) July 13, 2022
Meanwhile, it hurt the Ravens not to have him last year. But Baltimore was never going to be able to pay him and avoided this sticky situation with the trade. Plus the move netted Odafe Oweh in the end.
Chalk a W up for EDC. https://t.co/zLFQKdt7wM
The Ravens fleeced the Kansas City Chiefs in the Orlando Brown trade
Losing Brown dealt a tough blow to the Ravens’ offensive line, which looked historically bad last year after Ronnie Stanley sat out due to injury.
Yet the team knew that holding on to Brown could hurt even more in the long-term given the inflated tackle market and given the top-dollar bag that Brown was prepared to ask for.
Of course, Brown wanted to play left tackle as well, and with Stanley on the roster, that was never going to happen. So when push came to shove, the Ravens, ever prudent in their decision-making, chose to let one of their best offensive linemen go.
The Ravens wisely exchanged Brown for a 2021 first-rounder, third-rounder, fourth-rounder, and a 2022 fifth-round pick, which they turned into promising players like Odafe Oweh and Ben Cleveland, to name a few.
Oweh is well on his way to developing into a starting-caliber pass-rusher while Cleveland offers solid depth on the offensive line.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have two very unpalatable choices ahead of them: pay Brown the top-of-the-market money he wants (roughly $23 million), or lose Patrick Mahomes’ steady blindside blocker for the upcoming season.
Mahomes may have the better record against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on the field, but when it comes to the Orlando Brown trade? Ravens – 1, Chiefs, – 0.