Cincinnati Bengals Showed they are serious about protecting the quarterback which badThe signing of the four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr., His agent Michael Portner confirmed to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the deal was for a four-year, $64 million that includes a signing bonus of more than $31 million.
Bengals paid a premium to land former Brown kansas city chiefs The star who was one of the best available offensive tackles in free agency. Brown’s signing bonus is $10 million more than offensive linemen Ted Karras, alex kappa And red collins combined received when he signed with the Bengals last off-season.
pittsburgh steelers And new york jets were among other teams showing interest in the Browns.
He immediately bolstered an offensive line that was improved several times in pass blocking but still ranked near the bottom of the league. The Bengals were ranked 30th in pass block win rate, an ESPN metric run by NFL Next Gen.
Brown will also become the most accomplished player on the roster with consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2019-22. wide receiver Jamar Chase Previously was the only player on Cincinnati’s roster with multiple Pro Bowl selections (two).
If Brown continues to play left tackle, that could mean a former first-round pick Jonah Williams Will likely need to find a new position. Williams, who had his fifth-year option last season, has been the team’s primary starter on the left side of the offensive line since being drafted in 2019.
Brown and the Chiefs could not agree on a long-term contract last season, so he played the season as their franchise player, earning approximately $16.6 million.
Brown, who turns 27 in May, was acquired by the Chiefs in the 2021 trade Baltimore Ravens, He was the starting left tackle for every game except one in his two seasons with the Chiefs. He was a Pro Bowl selection both seasons, using his massive 6-foot-8, 340-pound frame to post a pass block win rate of 91.8% when blocking. patrick mahomesWhich ranked 18th in all offensive tackles.
He played three seasons for the Ravens, where he was mostly a right tackle. He asked to be traded to Baltimore so that he could play left-hander in part because he wanted to fulfill a promise he made to his late father Orlando, a former NFL offensive tackle.
Brown has appeared in 81 games (75 starts) in his five NFL seasons and has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons.
ESPN’s Adam Teacher contributed to this report.