Orlando Brown’s Pro Bowl honeymoon in Kansas City is apparently over.
The 5th year tackle already made it clear he’s not interested in playing on the franchise tag (approx $16.4 million).
And now reports suggest he may be willing to take a holdout into the regular season.
“The Chiefs and LT Orlando Brown are not close on a long-term deal with under three days left to do one. 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,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote.
According to Garafolo, Brown and his agent have spoken to the Chiefs about an extension but the sides are “nowhere close” to a deal.
“Even week 1” is in question, he added.
Brown played left tackle in 2021 and wants paid for it.
The Chiefs traded for Brown last year and likely have every intention on keeping the bookend tackle on the field to protect Patrick Maholmes.
Bur time will tell which side will blink first on the offseason staredown.
Players opting to sit out a franchise tag season is rare, given the high dollar total the 1-year deals carry.
But it’s happened before, most recently by a disgruntled LeVeon Bell in a move to force his way out of Pittsburgh.
Brown hasn’t asked for a trade.
But players don’t collect a dime of their salary by sitting out, meaning he may be making one last push for a better deal before the preseason gets underway.
Players report to camp in two weeks.
