Chiefs GM opens up about Orlando Brown Jr. contract situation
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has been here before with Brown Jr.
This time of year is almost as stressful as during the actual season because of how much teams have going on. There is the draft combine, free agency, cutting players, the draft, and so on. Last offseason around this time the Chiefs started to see themselves stuck in a rut.
If you remember as well as I do, the Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. decided to reject an offer that would have put him right up there with Trent Williams. So, from there he decided to hold out for part of the training camp. Smartly, he came to camp just shortly before the season started.
In my opinion, Brown Jr. declining the offer was a blessing in disguise for the Chiefs as he had one of his worst seasons, and definitely his worst as a Chief. Since he declined the offer, the Chiefs offered him the franchise tag of $16 million for the year.
That means that they need to come to an agreement this year on a contract, or Brown will be tagged again. Brett Veach, the Chiefs general manager, broke down the situation at the NFL Draft Combine.
"I mean, we went through this path last year and as always it's more beneficial for us to get something done long term," Brett Veach said when asked about Brown Jr. "That's why this season is so important for us and, and really this is a start. We'll have a lot of dialogue. I mean combines great to come in here and check out the new college talent. But a lot of the time here is spent talking with the agents of our players.
"So start exchanging information now. Unlike last year, I think we have at least a runway to work with and you know, we've got to know his team a little better. We're excited to get that process started here and hopefully get something figured out. It's a big deal because I don't think we started that until really late in the process and time became a factor there. So I think that's certainly going to help facilitate things and we'll just go to work right away and see if we can it get done."
What Veach is saying is last season Brown Jr. had a new agent represent him – a guy who had never worked with NFL contracts before. So, there were a lot of unknowns between the two sides. At least that is how I interpreted the answer.
I think it's paramount that the Chiefs make the right decision, and it's pretty obvious he won't be getting the same offer he did last season. But, we know Veach, and we know that based on how well he does his job, whatever gets done between the two sides will be the right thing.
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