A Fistful of Dollars – Phillip Maxwell
I will get straight down to brass tacks, it is eating at me that the Chiefs have little choice but to allow themselves to be bullied by Orlando Brown Jr. and his new agent into making him the highest paid Tackle in the NFL. I say bullied, because the Chiefs are undoubtedly in a precarious situation with the other 3 AFC West teams bolstering their pass rush in the off season.
Bolster almost seems like a modest description. Quite frankly, especially in regard to the Chargers who are widely recognized as the Chiefs biggest threat to unseat them for the division throne, the Chiefs cannot afford not to retain Orlando Brown, Jr.. The Chargers bring Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack to the LoS. They are going to wreak havoc no matter what team they face, including the Chiefs. You can bet your last dollar on that one.
Here is what’s bothering me. Orlando Brown is aware of the Chiefs predicament, and he is using it to strong arm the Chiefs into making him the highest paid Tackle in the NFL when he hasn’t earned that level of recognition. Brown as much as admitted to it when he said to the press on Tuesday, when asked how confident he was that a deal would get done with the Chiefs:
“Very confident. Very confident…especially simply based off the things that have come into effect within our division, the type of defensive ends that have been brought in, the type of players and all of that type of stuff. It’s not the year to go into the season with a backup left tackle. So, I’m very confident that the Kansas City Chiefs will get that done.”
Mike Garafola posted a tweet about why Brown Chose Michael Portner(DSGAthletes), an agent with no prior experience: “Another factor in Brown signing with Portner, I’m told, is he wanted an agent who didn’t have prior relationships or friendships with any GMs. Portner will be negotiating his first NFL contract, and Brown looked at that as a postive.” Maybe I am naive but Portner also said: “The plan for Orlando will tap into his ambitions off-the-field and turn them into reality. Everything we do will be tailored to fit Orlando and his brand with the purpose of preparing him for life after football.”
Maybe its just me, but when I read that, I interpret it as saying, “Hey Chiefs, I got you by the family jewels.” Arrogance was just oozing from the cranny of this statement. It raised my ire, to say the least.
But here the Chiefs are, with no other blue-chip Tackle prospect ready this season (that can play the left side) waiting in the shadows. Not to mention, finding themselves perennially picking towards the bottom half of the first round of the NFL Draft where everyone knows, great Tackles are rarely found. All the Chiefs LT eggs are in one basket. I’m not saying that Orlando Brown Jr. shouldn’t be paid and paid well, but more than Trent Williams? More than David Bakhtiari?
I say, play one more season under a more than generous Tag and prove you are worth more than those guys.
What do all these Tackles have in common?
#1 Trent Williams, #2 David Bakhtiari, #3 Tristam Wirfs, #4 Ryan Ramczyk, #5 Lane Johnson, #6 Terron Armstead, #7 Tyron Smith, #8 Ronnie Stanley, #9 Rashawn Slater, #10 Taylor Moton, #11 Jack Conklin, #12 Laremy Tunsil, #13 La’el Collins, #14 Braden Smith, #15 Elgton Jenkins #16 Kolton Miller… and somewhere after that, comes Orlando Brown.
Based on 3 consecutive years of PFF grading and PFF WAR results, all of the above listed players rank higher than Orlando Brown Jr. And yet, he wants to be paid more than ALL of them. The sad thing is, I don’t know how much room for bargaining Brett Veach has, if any.
When my brother turned 18, he was so excited to buy his first new car. Being his older brother, he asked if I would ride along and play middle man, since I had been in that situation before and he looked up to me as a seasoned negotiator. The second we sat down across the desk from the salesman, he blurted out, I CAN AFFORD $500.00 DOLLARS A MONTH!!
My jaw dropped, and I could not hide the disbelief on my face. What a horrid example of poker he displayed. Of course, his new car payment was, you guessed it, $500.00.
I’m afraid that Veach, losing players such as Tyreek Hill and Melvin Gordon to higher bidders “sort of speak”, might have him a little skittish on the Orlando Brown deal. I’m a little worried he is going to blurt out, THE CHIEFS CAN AFFORD TO MAKE YOU THE HIGHEST PAID TACKLE IN THE LEAGUE!
Can they? Well, they were prepared to sign the older Trent Williams and make him the highest paid tackle during a time when the results from a world wide pandemic crippled the salary cap, so assuming the salary cap climbs to it’s projected amount of 230,000,000.00 in 2023 the answer is probably yes.
The fact that there are reports that this thing might go down to the deadline wire gives me hope that Veach is playing poker and isn’t instantly falling for the bluff. Andy Reid had this to say about current negotiations:
“I think he’s got good counsel, so we just have to work through it,” Reid said Thursday during a press conference after the final day of organized team activities, or OTAs. “I don’t see anything that’s going to get in the way there — just have the guys working together, keeping everything open like any other opportunity that you have to do deals with players.”
“Our guys are always very honest and deliberate, which I think is a great way to go — and something [owner] Clark [Hunt] believes in. Fair for the player; fair for the team. Let’s roll! That can be done with a good working relationship.”
Fair for the team is not paying Brown more money than dozens of Tackles in the league that have proven themselves worthy. Based on his career with the Ravens and his 2021 performance with the Chiefs, I say somewhere after Kolton Miller would be about right. That range, in my view, fair and anything more than that is caving to the situation.
I know I probably stand alone on this mind set, but I say make the man either sign the Tag or sit out the 2022 season. If he chooses to sit, bring in Fish on a one year deal. There are still future deals to be made and too many exorbitant deals will cripple the Chiefs.
Phillip Maxwell – ArrowheadOne