ESPN names the Chiefs player they believe could receive franchise tag this offseason
Could the Kansas City Chiefs franchise tag the same player two off-seasons in a row? ESPN's Adam Teicher thinks that could be the case. On Wednesday, ESPN published a list of who they believe each team's top free agent priority to re-sign should be. Teicher went with the obvious choice for the Chiefs and chose […]
Could the Kansas City Chiefs franchise tag the same player two off-seasons in a row?
ESPN's Adam Teicher thinks that could be the case.
On Wednesday, ESPN published a list of who they believe each team's top free agent priority to re-sign should be.
Teicher went with the obvious choice for the Chiefs and chose offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr.
The Chiefs weren't willing to give Brown the contract he wanted last year, so he played this season under his one-year, franchise player contract. Brown had a solid season, but if the Chiefs didn't satisfy his demands last year, would they do so this time around? That seems unlikely, and another year with the franchise tag could be looming.
It would behoove the Chiefs to work out an extension with Brown — specifically for salary cap purposes (he would cost around $20 million on the franchise tag in 2023 and there's no way to erase any of that cap hit or push it down the road).
Kansas City also doesn't want to let Brown leave in free agency after sending a first-round pick to the Ravens in early 2021 to acquire him.
Brown, however, wants more than what the Chiefs are offering (at least he did last summer). And after getting off to a slow start in 2022, it's hard to see Kansas City offering more this offseason than they did last summer.
This will certainly be an interesting situation to watch in the coming months. But it wouldn't be a shock if Teicher is right and the Chiefs tag Brown for a second straight offseason.
Featured image via Sam Greene-USA TODAY Sports
