Kansas City Chiefs should avoid getting involved with Orlando Brown

The Kansas City Chiefs need to stay away from Orlando Brown this offseason.

The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offensive line needs a lot of attention this offseason, we all know that. There are very big questions surrounding the viability and the return of the starting tackles, and free agents dot the roster landscape along the position group.

Ian Rapoport recently indicated that Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown was given permission to look for a trade. One could be forgiven if they wanted to match up the offensive tackle with the in-need Chiefs, who got embarrassed in the Super Bowl because their line couldn’t give Patrick Mahomes any time to throw.

Despite Cameron Black of KC Kingdom thinking the Chiefs should go after Brown, there are multiple reasons why the Chiefs shouldn’t be involved, and likely won’t be in the end, in the event the Ravens trade the former Oklahoma offensive lineman.

• First off is money, and that is the large, overriding issue.
• Secondly, the compensation is something I don’t believe the Chiefs can or should surrender.
• Thirdly, don’t help out a conference rival. I’ll explain.

Financial

The Chiefs are in a position to add short-term help, perhaps a starter or two depending on how they work their own contracts this offseason. However, that will mean the team is kicking a sedan-sized can down the road to blow up their future salary cap.

Right now, however, the idea of paying Brown what he likely will ask for, quite simply, isn’t a move the Chiefs can afford to do. He will likely require a massive per year deal with a large bonus. And while the Chiefs could afford to do a contract along those lines, Brown is a right tackle that filled in at left tackle this past season and is both looking to play left tackle and be paid like one.

That’s a lot of money, which leads us to trade compensation.

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Trade Compensation

Money is one thing. The money plus the draft picks is another. If the Chiefs want to compete long-term and keep their stars, valuing draft picks for what they truly represent is important. And what is that?

It means, for generally four seasons, the team has a player on their roster that will make next to nothing. When a team is able to get production at a really low cost, it allows them to overpay elsewhere for other players. The Chiefs would not be able to afford Tyrann Mathieu if not for the production of rookie contract players such as Charvarius Ward and L’Jarius Sneed.

The Chiefs can maybe afford the contract it would take to sign the Ravens tackle. In the NFL, there are ways to do it. However, it’s not just that.

The Chiefs need their draft picks, if for nothing else, the cheap depth they afford. The Chiefs are now in the early stages of a transitional period with their roster, and a move like this, surrendering both money and draft picks, is not the mechanism to continue long-term competitiveness.

I’m guessing, but the Chiefs would likely have to give up multiple picks, including their first in order to bring Brown in. That’s a very expensive player.

Conference Rival

The Ravens are looking, in a small way, to trade Brown because they have salary cap issues of their own, need to get their quarterback extended, and want to bring in the aforementioned low-cost depth that is so vital to competing in the NFL.

Perhaps behind only Buffalo in the current hierarchy of the AFC, I don’t see how giving the Ravens multiple top 100 picks, including KC’s first, to take on a big contract that limits your ability to help the rest of the roster, helps Kansas City be competitive. The Chiefs should not burden themselves further while also aiding a conference rival as they are in a very similar predicament.

What should the Kansas City Chiefs do?

The Chiefs can afford to bring in an offensive tackle, a good one. So in the long run, bringing in a big-ticket player isn’t a huge issue. The defense needs some young depth and some help sure, but the big-ticket item, if there is one, likely is and should be along the offensive line.

Taylor Moton of the Carolina Panthers and Darryl Williams of the Buffalo Bills are options. And while they would take money to bring in, that is all they would require. Those draft picks then could be used to target that young defensive depth at say, linebacker, and corner.

This is a trade the Chiefs should not explore.