Four reasons why Chiefs must sign Orlando Brown long term
By Matt Conner
The market demands it
Take a quick look around for yourself to see what it takes to secure a solid left tackle in the National Football League these days. Then you’ll find why the Chiefs really have no other option but to sign Brown to a contract extension this summer.
Teams atop the annual draft order are quick to grab the guys labeled the safest bets and even those are a roll of the dice. Tristan Wirfs is a Pro Bowl talent taken just after a still-developing player like Mekhi Becton, and those very choices are why some teams—the Buccaneers and Jets, respectively—stay locked into cycles of winning and losing.
Even on the open market, it’s incredibly difficult to find a franchise left tackle. Trent Williams came up a year ago and decided to remain at home with the San Francisco 49ers, but not before using the Chiefs as leverage to become the highest-paid OT in the game (and deservedly so).
The Chiefs ended up using a first-round pick on Brown last spring knowing full well he wanted a long-term contract so there are no alarms and no surprises here (as Thom Yorke would say). The Chiefs paid a steep price because the market demands a steep price. Tackles are high-priced commodities and teams can ill afford to gamble at such an important post.
Finally, if all of this sounds like bad news, it’s not…