Chiefs Frustrated With LT Orlando Brown Jr.
The Chiefs and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. were unable to agree to an extension prior to the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign multi-year deals. That development has reportedly led to Kansas City becoming frustrated with its 2021 trade acquisition.
“There was frustration and there was disappointment,” Jeffri Chadiha of the NFL Network recently said (via Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star). “They really like Orlando Brown Jr., they love having him be a part of this team, but the money he was asking for was too high for them. They feel like they don’t want to not have stability at left tackle here, but they also don’t want to pay top-of-the-market money for a player that they don’t think is the best player at his position in the NFL.”
Of course, the frustration is probably mutual. While the Chiefs proposed a six-year, $139MM contract, that featured a bloated $40MM salary in the sixth and final year of the deal that was never intended to be paid and was only included to give Brown a market-topping average annual value of over $23MM. The AAV over the first five years was around $18MM, which would have stood eighth among tackles.
On the other hand, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, the Chiefs’ offer did include $38MM in full guarantees and another $14.25MM in injury guarantees (which would have converted to a full guarantee in 2024). That $38MM mark is critical because it represents more than what Brown would earn under two consecutive franchise tags — $16.7MM in 2022 and $19.9MM in 2023 — and that is often a key to working out an extension for tagged players.
Brown, though, was pushing for a $40MM signing bonus and full guarantees beyond that, along with a “true” AAV of $25MM. It is easy to see why the Chiefs did not want to go there for a very good player who can dominate lesser defenders but who can look more pedestrian against quality competition. Though he excels at run-blocking thanks largely to his mauling style of play, his pass-block win rate in 2021 — his first full year on the blindside — was outside the top-40 at his position. That is especially concerning since, in the Chiefs’ high-flying offense, he is generally not asked to sustain blocks for very long.
There is certainly a chance that Brown, 26, will continue to improve, and even if he is hit with the franchise tag again in 2023, he will have the chance to finally hit the open market the following year, when he is just 28 years old. At that time, the salary cap is expected to be considerably higher than it is now, so as long as he can avoid a major injury and at least sustain his current level of performance, Brown’s patience could be rewarded in a big way.
For now, it is unclear if he will report to training camp, which opens later this week. Head coach Andy Reid, during a press conference on Friday, said, “I don’t know that. So I don’t know whether he’s going to be here or not. If he’s here, great. And if he’s not, we move on. That’s how we’ve done it in the past. This isn’t the first time I’ve been through something like this” (via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk).
Brown will almost certainly sign his tender at some point, though Chadiha did indicate that the three-time Pro Bowler may be willing to extend his holdout into Week 1.
Per Chadiha, “one front office person said, ‘[t]his isn’t the same guy that we traded for.’ The feeling there is that when they got him from Baltimore is that he was going to be a team player and work with them on a team-friendly type of deal. That was not the case. Right now we’re looking at a situation where Orlando Brown probably won’t be there for training camp and may not be there for Week 1.”
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/24/22
Here are today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Placed on NFI list: WR Devon Williams
Houston Texans
- Placed on NFI list: WR John Metchie III (story)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Kyle Sloter.
- Waived (with non-football injury designation): QB E.J. Perry
Sloter just took a visit with the Jaguars on Saturday, and he did enough to land a contract. He has been a member of a number of NFL practice squads since signing with the Broncos as a UDFA in 2017, but he has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game. In nine starts for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers in 2022, he was not especially impressive, completing 57.7% of his passes for 1,798 yards while throwing only nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions. With three other QBs on the Jacksonville roster, Sloter appears to be simply replacing Perry as a camp body at this point.
Browns To Consider Extension For LB Sione Takitaki?
Browns linebacker Sione Takitaki is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com writes the Browns could consider a new deal. Takitaki’s place in Cleveland beyond 2022 is not known just yet, but the former third-round pick has been a regular on the past two Browns defenses. 
Cleveland’s most frequent alignment is a 4-2-5 look, with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Anthony Walker entrenched as the primary linebackers in the middle of the unit. But when the team deploys a strong-side ‘backer, it calls upon Takitaki, a hard-hitting run-stopper whose 67.5 grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021 would have been a top-20 mark if he had enough snaps to qualify.
Indeed, the BYU product appeared in just 28% of the Browns’ defensive snaps least season after posting a 43% number the year before. Much of that decrease was due to the arrivals of Owusu-Koramoah and Walker, who established themselves as high-level performers and relegated Takitaki to more of a marginal role.
Still, the advanced metrics were similarly fond of Takitaki in 2020, when he posted a career-best PFF grade of 71.2. Even if he is slated for rotational duties moving forward, the 27-year-old has been productive when given the opportunity to stay on the field, and should be relatively affordable on a short- or medium-term extension.
As many have pointed out amidst Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson-induced QB uncertainty, the Browns are currently in a league of their own in terms of 2022 cap space. Much of that will likely be used to roll over into next year, which will see a substantial spike in cap figures for the likes of Watson, Myles Garrett, Amari Cooper, and Denzel Ward. An extension would therefore have to be relatively modest for Takitaki, though there is little reason to believe anything other than that would be the Browns’ goal.
As Cleveland looks to retain as many members of what it feels is a Super Bowl-caliber roster, keeping Takitaki in the fold would likely be a worthwhile investment. How aggressively they pursue an extension, however, remains to be seen. Of course, as Cabot notes, the team could simply wait to consider a new contract until next offseason.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Texans WR John Metchie III To Miss 2022 Season
Texans wide receiver John Metchie III, a second-round rookie, will miss the 2022 season, but it has nothing to do with the torn ACL he suffered in this year’s SEC title game. Unfortunately, the Alabama product has been diagnosed with leukemia.
Metchie released a statement indicating that the diagnosis is Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, which he says is the most curable form of the disease. He added that he is in good spirits and expects to make a full recovery, but that he will not be playing football this year.
Although the Texans knew that the ACL tear would quite possibly force Metchie to miss time in his rookie campaign, it was expected that he would be able to suit up at some point this season. Indeed, the club was comfortable enough with his medicals to trade away pick nos. 68, 108, and 124 to move up the board and nab Metchie with the No. 44 overall selection.
In 13 games in his final collegiate season, Metchie posted 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight scores. Whenever he was medically cleared, he was expected to serve as Houston’s primary slot receiver and as a high-upside weapon for second-year QB Davis Mills. At present, the Texans’ WR depth chart is topped by Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, but the options behind those two are fairly uninspiring.
Now, Metchie and Houston can only hope that 2023 will bring better fortune. We here at PFR wish Metchie the best in his recovery.
FA CB Chris Harris Generating Interest
Free agent cornerback Chris Harris is generating significant interest on the open market, according to the player himself. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Harris said he has heard from five teams (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk).
“Man, we’re definitely heating up,” Harris said. “I’m just taking my time and waiting to see what’s going to be the best fit for me. I’ve still got a little time, and I’m just waiting to make sure I pick the right team.”
Harris, 33, spent the first nine years of his career with the Broncos before signing a two-year, $20MM contract with the Chargers in March 2020. His time with the Bolts was marked by some availability issues, as he missed seven games in 2020 and another six contests in 2021. His Pro Football Focus grades of 61.9 and 62.4 over the last two seasons were also considerably lower than the marks he put up during his time in Denver.
Still, the four-time Pro Bowler and member of the 2010s All-Decade team offers the type of pedigree and experience that is hard to find in the days leading up to training camp, and teams in need of secondary help surely have Harris on their short list of possible signees. Harris’ willingness to play safety — he considers himself a position-less player who can line up on the boundary, in the slot, or at safety — should help his cause.
The Kansas product did not specify which teams have expressed interest at this point, though he said AFC West outfits have reached out, along with several NFC clubs. At this stage in his career, he is understandably looking to sign with a contender that has a strong quarterback situation, but every AFC West team fits that description, so that doesn’t narrow it down too much.
It is also unclear what type of money Harris is seeking, though his $68MM in career earnings — the second-highest mark among active players who went undrafted — suggests that the scheme fit and the opportunity to win a second championship ring is more important at this point. He hopes to sign no later than the middle of August.
Colts Place LB Darius Leonard On PUP List
The Colts have placed linebacker Darius Leonard on the PUP list, as Stephen Holder of ESPN.com writes. This was the expected move after Leonard underwent back surgery in June.
It seems that a nerve issue in Leonard’s back caused the ankle pain that ailed him throughout the 2021 season and continued to give him trouble this spring (despite the fact that he had the ankle operated on in June 2021). Per Holder, the team has not indicated when Leonard will return to the field, but the most recent reporting on the matter suggested that he would be available near the start of training camp, which opens this week.
Despite the injury concerns, Leonard performed at his usual stellar level in 2021, earning his third First Team All-Pro bid in his fourth professional season. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 79.0 overall grade, which was the sixth-highest mark among all qualified LBs and Leonard’s best showing since 2018, when he led the league with 163 total tackles and earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
The centerpiece of Indianapolis’ defense, Leonard offers considerable playmaking ability along with his tackling acumen. He has accrued 11 interceptions and 17 forced fumbles in his career, including four picks and an NFL-best eight FFs last season. His efforts landed him a five-year, $99.25MM extension last August, which made him the highest-paid off-ball ‘backer in league history in terms of AAV. Obviously, his health will be one of the Colts’ primary concerns heading into the 2022 season.
Joining Leonard on the PUP list are defensive end Tyquan Lewis, safety Rodney McLeod, and wideout Mike Strachan. DT Eric Johnson, a fifth-round rookie, is on the NFI list.
Bills CB Tre’Davious White To Open Camp On PUP List; G Rodger Saffold On NFI List
Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White will start training camp on the PUP list, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. That does not come as much of a surprise given that White sustained a torn ACL in November.
Rapoport does note that White is “in a good place” in his recovery. It is still unclear when the two-time Pro Bowler will be able to return to the field, and he is a candidate to open the season on IR. If he is not ready to go for Week 1, Buffalo will likely deploy first-round rookie Kaiir Elam and Dane Jackson — who acquitted himself well when filling in for White last year — as its starting boundary corners.
White, who had signed a four-year, $70MM extension a little more than a year before suffering the ACL tear, was in the midst of a terrific 2021 campaign. His yards-per-completion (9.9) and yards-per-target (5.2) figures represented career-best marks, and he was surrendering a meager 60.8 QB rating on passes thrown in his direction. He had also posted 41 tackles, one forced fumble, six passes defensed, and one interception. The Bills have legitimate championship aspirations, and White’s healthy return will be instrumental to the club’s push for its first Lombardi Trophy.
Meanwhile, offseason acquisition Rodger Saffold will open camp on the NFI list after injuring his ribs in a recent car accident, per Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic (via Twitter). Head coach Sean McDermott did not put a timeline on Saffold’s return, saying only that the 34-year-old will return “in due time.”
Saffold spent the last three seasons with the Titans and earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career in 2021. Tennessee released him in a cost-cutting move in March, and he signed with the Bills several days later. He projects as Buffalo’s starting left guard.
Fellow guard Ike Boettger, who started 10 games for the Bills last season, finds himself on the PUP list after sustaining an Achilles tear towards the end of the 2021 season. DT Eli Ankou, a reserve/futures player who notched one sack and nine tackles in five games for Buffalo last year, joins him and White on that list.
Bengals Unlikely To Trade Jessie Bates
The Bengals and safety Jessie Bates were unable to agree to terms on a new contract prior to the July 15 deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign an extension, and Bates is not planning to attend the team’s training camp. Still, Cincinnati does not plan to trade its fifth-year DB, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said during an appearance on the Ari Meirov NFL Show (video link).
“The time to do it would’ve been before the deadline,” Fowler said (h/t Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (subscription required)). “Talking to people involved, I think the player would be very surprised, too. The Bengals haven’t shown a willingness to move him.”
Despite something of a down 2021 regular season, there surely would have been clubs interested in dealing for Bates and giving him a contract near the top of the safety market if the Bengals had entertained trade talks before July 15. Now, though, any acquiring club would be on the hook for the $12.9MM salary and cap number associated with Bates’ franchise tender, and not many teams can comfortably absorb such a charge at this point in the year. Plus, Cincinnati’s return for a safety who may turn into a one-year rental would likely be limited.
Bates has not yet signed his tender — which means that he cannot be fined for skipping training camp — but he will either need to sign it at some point or sit out the entire 2022 campaign, which seems highly unlikely. The only player in recent history to go that route was Le’Veon Bell, and with the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult to argue that was a good move for Bell’s career.
Cincinnati is also rostering Vonn Bell and first-round rookie Dax Hill, who took every OTA rep as the team’s starting free safety in Bates’ absence. The early returns on Hill have been positive, and while it should be expected that Bates will show up before he starts losing game checks, a parting of the ways in 2023 looks like a very real possibility.
Bell is also entering a platform year, and the Bengals may have found his eventual successor as well when they nabbed Tycen Anderson in the fifth round of this year’s draft. With quarterback Joe Burrow eligible for an extension at season’s end, Cincinnati is clearly looking for cost-controlled talent at non-premium positions.
Latest On Titans’ RT, LG Competitions
Second-year pro Dillon Radunz has the chance to win the Titans’ starting right tackle job, per Jim Wyatt of the team’s official website. That jibes with an ESPN report from last month, and it makes plenty of sense given that Radunz was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft with the expectation that he would be a long-term bookend on Tennessee’s O-line.
The possibility of Radunz competing for the team’s other OL vacancy, left guard, was floated earlier this year. HC Mike Vrabel subsequently indicated that the team would be focusing on Radunz as an RT candidate, although he will have to fend off 2022 third-rounder Nicholas Petit-Frere, who presently appears to be the most significant threat to his playing time. In his rookie campaign, Radunz started just one game while learning and developing behind former right tackle David Quessenberry, who signed with the Bills this offseason. According to Wyatt, Radunz has looked more comfortable during OTAs and minicamp, but obviously training camp will be a better gauge of where he stands.
While Radunz and Petit-Frere are battling it out for the right tackle slot, Wyatt confirms that Aaron Brewer and Jamarco Jones are the top candidates for the LG gig, as we heard several weeks ago (and throughout the offseason). Brewer, a 2020 UDFA, has started six games for Tennessee in his first two professional seasons, five of which came last year. Jones, meanwhile, signed a two-year, $5.75MM contract with the Titans in March, and one of his primary selling points was his versatility. Despite dealing with injury problems throughout his brief career, the 2018 fifth-round pick of the Seahawks has seen action all over the O-line.
Both Brewer and Jones received sub-par marks from Pro Football Focus for their 2021 work. This offseason, Jones has managed to stay healthy and has, in Wyatt’s estimation, demonstrated improvement, while Brewer missed time due to injury. Brewer’s familiarity with the offense will help, and Wyatt believes the Texas State product will ultimately win the LG job, but that battle will be one of the most hotly-contested for the Titans this summer. Whichever player emerges as the starter will have big shoes to fill, as Rodger Saffold had become a reliable fixture on the interior and earned his first Pro Bowl bid in 2021. He became a cap casualty in March and signed with Buffalo a week before Quessenberry.
The Titans finished the 2021 regular season with the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. While Vrabel’s outfit fell to the Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs, the club still has its eyes set on another deep postseason run. As such, Wyatt confirms that Tennessee will look at the free agent and trade markets if the RT and/or LG competitions are not going well.
Of course, the players who are on the free agent market at this point in the calendar year are generally available for a reason. The top RTs include Bryan Bulaga, Daryl Williams, and Marcus Cannon, all of whom were released by their previous clubs in March and who have not generated any reported interest since. Similarly, the Commanders released LG Ereck Flowers in March, and while our own Ely Allen noted that the former top-10 pick could make plenty of sense for Tennessee, we have not heard of any interest in his services.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif may be an appealing option for the Titans if Brewer and Jones fail to impress, but LDT may not want to continue his NFL career. Nonetheless, potentially intriguing players could be cut as we get closer to the regular season, and GM Jon Robinson may be able to swing a trade if the FA market does not bear fruit.
Colts’ Bernhard Raimann Could Become Week 1 LT Starter
New Colts quarterback Matt Ryan will operate behind a number of top-tier blockers in 2022, including All-World performer Quenton Nelson at left guard, three-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly at the pivot, and Braden Smith — who signed a four-year, $70MM extension one year ago — at right tackle. The left tackle and right guard spots, however, remain up for grabs.
Of course, the LT job is the most important one on the line, and Matt Pryor is currently penciled in as the Week 1 starter on Ryan’s blindside. The problem is that Pryor, a 2018 sixth-round pick of the Eagles, has just one start at left tackle in his career, which came in the penultimate game of the 2021 season as an injury replacement for Eric Fisher. Indianapolis acquired Pryor in a minor trade in advance of final cutdowns last August, which is indicative of his generally underwhelming performance during his two-year stint in Philadelphia.
On the other hand, Pryor demonstrated marked improvement in an admittedly small sample size with the Colts last year. In 438 offensive snaps, the TCU product did not allow a sack and earned a strong 76.5 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. PFF ranked him as the 25th-best tackle in the game — he also saw time at right tackle as a fill-in for Smith — and gave him high marks for both his pass-blocking and run-blocking acumen. The Colts were sufficiently impressed to re-sign Pyror to a one-year, $5.5MM contract this offseason, while Fisher remains a free agent.
Indianapolis did, however, select Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann, a First-Team All-MAC left tackle last year, in the third round of April’s draft. Per Mike Chappell of Fox59.com, Pryor will open training camp with the first-stringers, but Raimann, who is viewed as the long-term solution at LT, will be given “every opportunity” to win the job.
It’s not difficult to see why the Colts are so optimistic about Raimann. Even though he began his collegiate career as a tight end and just converted to tackle in 2020, Lance Zierlien of NFL.com says the Austrian native is much more developed as a technician than one might expect. That technique combined with a tight end’s athleticism make Raimann an intriguing prospect, and while he still has plenty of work to do to reach his ceiling, it sounds as if he has a good chance to step right into a starting role as a rookie.
If that happens, then Pryor — who saw time at guard with Indy last year and whose work with the Eagles came on the interior of the line — could compete with 2020 fifth-rounder Danny Pinter for the RG gig.
“We’ll get the best five [O-linemen] on the field,” GM Chris Ballard said. “Whatever the coaches think are the best five, we’ll get them on the field.”