Five toughest decisions facing Brett Veach for KC Chiefs

Orlando Brown’s extension

The decision here really isn’t about whether or not Brett Veach will offer Orlando Brown an extension going forward. It will happen at some point. Otherwise, the Chiefs wouldn’t have traded a first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens only to put themselves in the same position as the Ravens one year later.

What separates the good from the great front offices around the NFL is their ability to manage finances in a way that maintains healthy margins going forward. For the sake of a major extension like this, it’s about the team’s ability to read the market and pay a player a fair wage while simultaneously timing it in a way where the market doesn’t break them.

The aforementioned terms of Frank Clark’s contract show how sticky a situation can become. Whereas the Patrick Mahomes extension actually gives the Chiefs a lot of flexibility in future seasons for such an accomplished yet young franchise quarterback.

So how will Orlando Brown’s extension work out? Will the Chiefs want to cement something early before another year of a salary cap boost will bloat the market for elite left tackles even more? Will they want to make certain that their investment was worth it first? Do they do something in season and perhaps make others upset who feel they should be paid first? Do they wait and perhaps allow other teams to reset the market first?

The Chiefs traded for Brown knowing that he wanted to be paid like a left tackle. They also did their homework on how his play would fit in Andy Reid’s system. A few extensions are coming at Arrowhead and Brown is one of them. But how much and when is going to be threading the needle for Veach.