Chiefs find LT replacement for Orlando Brown Jr.
Many were surprised when the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t franchise tag left tackle Orland Brown Jr., but it appears they had a backup plan all along.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter , the Chiefs agreed to terms with former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor on Monday on a four-year, $80 million deal that includes an NFL-record $60 million guaranteed for an offensive lineman.
The deal makes Taylor the fourth-highest paid offensive tackle in the NFL behind San Francisco’s Trent Williams, Green Bay’s David Bakhtiari and Houston’s Laremy Tunsil.
A former second-round pick of the Jaguars, Taylor has never missed a game since joining the league in 2019. The 6-foot-5, 312-pound tackle played 1,230 offensive snaps in 2022, allowing just 21 pressures, 15 hurries, five sacks and only one QB hit. For comparison, Brown Jr. allowed 58 pressures, 44 hurries, 10 hits and four sacks this year.
SI.com’s Albert Breer reported that the Chiefs plan to move Taylor from right tackle, where he played every snap for the Jaguars, to left tackle like they did with Brown Jr.
Taylor joins a Chiefs offensive line that includes guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith, plus center Creed Humphrey, giving Kansas City four above-average starters protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
