Bengals Roster Breakdown: Orlando Brown Jr. can re-enter the Pro Bowl conversation this season

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.Today, we cap off the […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Orlando Brown Jr.
© Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.

Today, we cap off the offensive line with left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Brown has more Pro Bowl nods than anyone on the roster, has started over 100 total games, and has lifted up a Lombardi Trophy all before turning 28 this offseason. He is the epitome of a core member of the locker room, which is exactly why he was voted a team captain for the season.

Orlando Brown Jr. 

  • Age: 28
  • Year: 7th
  • Position: Left tackle
  • College: Oklahoma
  • Previous Teams: Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs
  • Jersey Number: 75

Brown was drafted by the Ravens with the 83rd overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent three years at Oklahoma and started immediately as a freshman in 2015. 40 starts later, he was a two-time Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year winner, two-time First Team All-Big 12 honoree, a 2017 First Team All-American, and a finalist for the Outland Trophy. He declared early for the NFL Draft, but a rough showing at the Scouting Combine had a clear impact on his draft status and he ultimately fell to the third round.

Oklahoma played Brown at left tackle, the position Brown has always wanted to play, but he began his NFL career on the right side with the Ravens. He made his first start in Week 7 of the 2018 season and stayed there for nearly two years. In 2020, Brown filled in for the injured All-Pro starter Ronnie Stanley at left tackle for 13 games (including two playoff starts). After getting back to his natural position, the spot his late father, Orlando Brown Sr. always wanted him to play after he never got the chance during his nine-year career, Brown took a stand and requested a trade. The Ravens sent him to the Kansas City Chiefs to play his natural position. 

Brown, who earned two Pro Bowl nods with the Ravens, increased that number to four with the Chiefs after just two seasons. Protecting the game's best quarterback will gain you even more notoriety than you already had. Brown had a 61-game starting streak which ended when the Chiefs lost to Bengals near the end of the 2021 season. Cincinnati ended up being a pest for Brown as he allowed an average of five pressures a game in the three matchups he did suit up for against his future team, but he got the last laugh in winning the Super Bowl to close out the 2022 season two weeks after sending the Bengals home in the AFC Championship Game. 

The Chiefs never extended Brown's contract, only giving him the franchise tag in 2022. He hit free agency following the Super Bowl and surprisingly stayed on the market for three days. Most experts projected him to land a deal north of $20 million a year, but despite playing left tackle for nearly three years, his market to be paid like one never materialized. It was then when the Bengals came into the picture and offered him the left tackle job for a slightly lower price tag.

The decision to sign Brown had the ripple effect of moving incumbent left tackle Jonah Williams to right tackle, which sparked Williams requesting a trade that would later be rescinded. The Bengals' pass-heavy offense based out of shotgun led to some rough outings for Brown in his first season back in the AFC North, but the late season shift to more under center focus with Jake Browning at quarterback stabilized Brown's pass blocking production. Both styles of offense figure to have a more equitable relationship this season, which should benefit Brown and the rest of the offensive line.

Contract details

Brown is entering the second year of the four-year, $64 million contract he signed last offseason. He will earn a base salary of $4.5 million for the 2024 season. He's already earned an $3 million roster bonus, and another $375,000 from a workout bonus. He can also earn up to $748,000 in per game roster bonuses.

Due to $7,775,000 of his signing bonus being prorated on the books this year, Brown's cap number for this season is $16,398,000.

Roster outlook

Brown came to Cincinnati to continue honoring his promise to his father by playing left tackle. The Bengals committed to him long term to fulfill his mission, and he's been an absolute positive for the team and the city. 

Adding Amarius Mims to develop as the long-term right tackle gives the Bengals two towering bookend pass protectors to build around for the next few years. For now, Brown will be joined by Trent Brown, another skyscraper of a man, to secure the edges of Joe Burrow's pocket.

With lessons learned from last year's offensive evolution, there's a fair expectation that Brown's production sees a big jump back to his standard. The Bengals re-entering the hunt for the AFC North crown can put him back in the Pro Bowl conversation as the left tackle of a winning team.

Projected role: Starting left tackle

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