Report: Kansas City Chiefs facing possible contract holdout by Orlando Brown

According to a report from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Kansas City Chiefs are facing a possible contract holdout by Orlando Brown. Brown and the Chiefs are working on a new long-term deal for the three-time Pro Bowler from Oklahoma, but talks have stalled out as the deadline approaches for Brown to sign the franchise tag contract offered by the Chiefs.

Orlando Brown seeking new contract from Chiefs

“The Chiefs and left tackle Orlando Brown are not close on a long-term deal with under three days left to do one,” explained Garafolo. “If no deal is reached before Friday, I wouldn’t expect Brown for the start of training camp and Week 1 isn’t a certainty, either.”

The report comes as a surprise when compared to comments made by Brown about his contract negotiations just one week ago. When speaking on NFL Total Access, Brown said he was “very confident” that he would get the contract he was seeking.

“Especially simply based off the things that have come into effect within our division, the type of defensive ends that have been brought in, the type of players and all of that type of stuff. It’s not the year to go into the season with a backup left tackle. So, I’m very confident that the Kansas City Chiefs will get that done,” said Brown last week.

Now, Brown and his representation have been in constant discussions with the Chiefs regarding his extension but are nowhere close to a deal. The Chiefs applied the franchise tag to Brown, but he has yet to sign it and the deadline for players to sign franchise tag contracts is Friday at 4 p.m. ET. If Brown plays the 2022 season on a franchise tag, he would be paid $16.2 million this year.

If an agreement is not reached by the Friday deadline, Brown is likely to sit out from training camp — even potentially holding out through Week 1 of the season. Brown played left tackle for the Chiefs last season after they acquired him via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens, his preferred position. Brown is seeking money equal to the top of the market for left tackles, but Garafolo’s report indicates that the Chiefs are offering him money closer to the top level for right tackles — a difference of roughly $4 million per year.