Kansas City Chiefs announce which player they will franchise tag

The Kansas City Chiefs will use their franchise tag on offensive tackle Orlando Brown, per NFL reporter Ian Rapoport. He is set make a one-year salary of $16.6 million according to the NFL’s 2022 franchise tag numbers.

The Baltimore Ravens selected Brown out of Oklahoma in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the team before being traded to the Kansas City last offseason in exchange for several draft picks. The 6-foot-8, 383-pound lineman started 16 games this past season at left tackle for the Chiefs, who lost to Cincinnati in the AFC Championship. He has also been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past three years.

Brown is the third player to be franchise tagged so far behind Cleveland tight end David Njoku and Bengals safety Jessie Bates III. The deadline for teams to tag a franchise player in Tuesday.

Players who receive the franchise tag also have the option to agree to a long-term contract with their team. Kansas City will likely try to come to an agreement with Brown on an extension before next season. If they are unable to do so, the Chiefs are allowed to franchise tag him for a second consecutive year at 120% of his 2022 salary.

The Chiefs replaced their entire 2020 starting offensive line this past season and still finished as the fifth-best unit in the league according to Pro Football Focus. Brown ranked third among the five starters with a grade of 75.1. Kansas City quarterbacks were sacked on just 4.43% of drop backs, a number that ranked fourth in the NFL.

With Brown set to return for next season, the team will look to make its third Super Bowl appearance in four years. The Chiefs certainly have a shot thanks to the offensive line and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 4,839 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2021.