The Chicago Bears need to revamp their offensive line heading into 2022. It was a long shot, but one of the top names that were connected to the Bears was left tackle Orlando Brown. Brown was a third-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. He instantly showed success as a starting right tackle for the Ravens and moved to left tackle in 2020. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2019 as a right tackle and again in 2020 as a left tackle. Brown would have been a great signing by Ryan Poles if he became available in free agency.
Now, the only true connection to Orlando Brown for the Chicago Bears is in fact Ryan Poles. That connection though is only that Poles has made it known he wants to focus on the offensive line and Poles was a part of a Kansas City Chiefs staff that traded for Orlando Brown in 2021 due to Brown not wanting to play right tackle for the Ravens. He understands that left tackles make several million dollars more per contract and he felt he was good enough to keep playing on the blind side.
The Chicago Bears will no longer be able to sign Orlando Brown in free agency
The Chiefs revamped their line in 2021 after releasing both their left and right tackles after losing to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz both missed the game due to injuries. Fisher played fairly well for the Colts this year and Schwartz still hasn’t made it back to the NFL. The Chiefs not only traded for Orlando Brown, but they drafted a new center, a new guard and also signed a few veterans. The revamping experiment worked and the Chiefs line was superb.
With Ryan Poles committed to doing the same here in Chicago, many are speculating the types of decisions he is going to make. Will Teven Jenkins be moved to right tackle? Will Larry Borom be moved inside to guard? Who will play the left tackle spot? Who will replace Sam Mustipher at center because even fans know he cannot handle that spot for all 17 games?
This brings us to free agency and also the 2022 NFL Draft. Ryan Poles has options, but we won’t know how he will attack fixing this offensive line specifically until free agency starts on March 16, 2022. One thing we do know is that Orlando Brown would have been one of the top free agent left tackles available if he made it to free agency. Unfortunately, as expected, the Kansas City Chiefs franchise tagged Orland Brown this morning — making him the first free agent to receive the tag.
If Orlando Brown signs the tag, he will make $16.5 million guaranteed for the 2022 NFL season and the Chiefs and Brown will be back to square one in 2023. We should expect to see other players receive the franchise tag over the next 24 hours with a deadline of 4:00 p.m. EST tomorrow (March 8) to make that decision.
Chicago Bears: 4 prospects the Bears should target in the trenches
One area the Chicago Bears will be looking to improve is in the trenches. With below-average play from the offensive and defensive line a season ago.
With Orlando Brown now off the table, Ryan Poles will need to get creative. The next best candidate in free agency at left tackle is Terron Armstead. His injury history scares me though as he’s never played an entire season and his expected contract will be worth over $20 million in AAV. We all know that Ryan Poles needs to fix this offensive line, now it is a matter of watching him get to work and do exactly that. Justin Fields deserves to stay upright more often in 2022.