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The Cincinnati Bengals did it. They finally did it. They spent big on an offensive lineman.
Perhaps falling short of winning it all on account of poor pass blocking in back-to-back postseasons changed the front office’s mindset.
Regardless of the thinking, they gave Orlando Brown Jr., considered one of the top tackles in the league, a four-year deal worth $64 million. But more importantly, $42.3 million of the cash is guaranteed. That’s the most guaranteed money they’ve ever awarded a player.
In Orlando Brown's new, 4-year deal with the #Bengals, he gets 67.87% of the $64.092M fully guaranteed, with $42.3M through year 2 and $49.9M through 3. By that point, he'll be ready for the next deal.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2023
And Brown was expected to sign for over $20 million annually, making this a great deal on the surface.
So now Joe Burrow finally has a top-ten tackle to block his blindside and hopefully give him enough time to keep the offense flowing even against elite pass rushers.
Still, some fans are curbing their enthusiasm for now. After all, many got their hopes up for La’el Collins around this time last year, and he failed to live up to expectations (to put it lightly).
Of course, the situations are not quite the same. Collins was cut by the Dallas Cowboys after a series of injuries and signed with the Bengals on an incentive-laden deal that still didn’t pay him even half of what Brown will make. In other words, there is a major difference in the perceived value of the two players.
So how would you grade the signing? Let us know in the comments or the poll below.
Poll
How do you grade the Orlando Brown Jr. signing?
This poll is closed
-
52%
A+
(1735 votes) -
31%
A
(1033 votes) -
8%
A-
(290 votes) -
4%
B+
(142 votes) -
1%
B
(58 votes) -
0%
B-
(23 votes) -
1%
C+ or lower
(49 votes)
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