Cap room for him? Not really, but moves could be made.
Draft capital for him? Maybe, but we're awfully low in the draft.
Tunsil trade (For record-keeping purposes, the trade saw the Dolphins acquire first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and a second-round pick in 2021 along with offensive tackle Julién Davenport and defensive back Johnson Bademosi in exchange for Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, a 2020 fourth-round pick and a 2021 sixth-round selection.)
It only took the Ravens a little over a year to learn their selection of Orlando Brown was a wise one, but they've met a new challenge with the tackle that could be their last.
Brown has expressed his desire to be traded, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday. After spending the majority of 2020 on the left side in place of the injured Ronnie Stanley, Brown has found his comfort zone and does not want to return to the right side. He'll only play for a team that will line him up at his preferred left tackle position, per Rapoport.
Rapoport added the Ravens value Brown significantly and would need major compensation in order to do a deal.
Brown's background is on the left side, but he ended up in Baltimore as a right tackle after a poor pre-draft showing saw him slide from a first-round projection to an eventual third-round pick of the Ravens. He blossomed in 2019 and especially in 2020 after switching to the left side to replace Stanley, earning his second straight trip to the Pro Bowl -- and first as an initial selection. Thanks to Brown's quick adjustment to the left side of the line, Baltimore didn't lose much in offensive production following Stanley's injury, finishing as the league's No. 1 rushing offense for a second straight season.
Brown's success on the left side and desire to remain there might very well also be tied to the financial ramifications of the tackle position. As it currently stands, there is a $5 million per year difference between the league's highest-paid right tackle (Philadelphia's Lane Johnson) and left tackle (Green Bay's David Bakhtiari). Of the top 10 highest-paid tackles in the NFL (in terms of average salary per year), only two -- Johnson and Las Vegas' Trent Brown -- are right tackles.
Orlando Brown missed out on significant money typically afforded to first-round picks right around the moment when he racked the bar after just 14 bench-press reps during a nightmarish 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. He's made a little over $1.8 million in base salary total in his first three seasons, and though he will see a significant boost in 2021 (base salary of $3.38 million) due to the structure of his rookie deal, that's still an incredibly far cry from where tackles of his level land in compensation ranking.
After demonstrating his ability to effectively handle the transition from right to left tackle -- a return to his roots, essentially -- Brown is in a prime position to capitalize financially and beyond. He'll maximize his earning potential by remaining a left tackle, and he'll probably enjoy playing the game a bit more in a stance and vantage point that's more familiar to him, anyway.
If that doesn't fit in Baltimore, the Ravens will have to move him. And though this isn't exactly the best way to ensure maximum leverage in a deal, they'll probably still get a haul for him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
What's best for that team is something they probably won't do and it involves not giving their RB Top 5 QB money.
Then maybe getting a pick that will help their offense the next 5 years is more appealing than 1 year of a disgruntled linemen complaining about not playing left tackle. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BossChief:
Depends on internal conversations, demand and doing what’s best for your team long term.
That was my first thought after reading the article. Hopefully it's push comes to shove in this situation. Let's hope Orlando gets more aggressive in his desire to be traded and stands firm on wanting to play LT. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BossChief:
Depends on internal conversations, demand and doing what’s best for your team long term.
There's nothing beneficial long term about giving your teams biggest hurdle to the superbowl a player that can protect the best qb in the league for the next 10 years unless they massively overpay. [Reply]
Originally Posted by -King-:
There's nothing beneficial long term about giving your teams biggest hurdle to the superbowl a player that can protect the best qb in the league for the next 10 years unless they massively overpay.
Exactly, and that's why it's N-E-V-E-R going to happen. [Reply]
Originally Posted by -King-:
There's nothing beneficial long term about giving your teams biggest hurdle to the superbowl a player that can protect the best qb in the league for the next 10 years unless they massively overpay.
If you're the Ravens you have to assume the Chiefs will be relentless in their pursuit of a LT. They're gettting one no matter what. Now you can be the beneficiary of that or not.
You're talking about cutting off your nose to spite your face. You don't build your team based on how some other team that's not in your division MIGHT do.
Youre thinking like a fan rather than a competent GM. Assuming of course the Chiefs have the best deal on the table. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Detoxing:
If you're the Ravens you have to assume the Chiefs will be relentless in their pursuit of a LT. They're gettting one no matter what. Now you can be the beneficiary of that or not.
You're talking about cutting off your nose to spite your face. You don't build your team based on how some other team that's not in your division MIGHT do.
Youre thinking like a fan rather than a competent GM. Assuming of course the Chiefs have the best deal on the table.
Or you can trade him to another team that needs an LT and DON'T help the team that could keep you from reaching the superbowl for as long as Mahomes plays. It's not like the Chiefs are the only team that needs an LT and would trade for one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BossChief:
Then maybe getting a pick that will help their offense the next 5 years is more appealing than 1 year of a disgruntled linemen complaining about not playing left tackle.
Agreed. Just think they can still trade him to a team not named the Chiefs. AFC teams, unless they are utterly incompetent are not going to do anything that benefits KC. It's why LV traded Hudson instead of releasing him as they probably knew where he would have ended up had they done that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by -King-:
Or you can trade him to another team that needs an LT and DON'T help the team that could keep you from reaching the superbowl for as long as Mahomes plays. It's not like the Chiefs are the only team that needs an LT and would trade for one.
The Chiefs aren't the Ravens only obstacle to a SB, and are but a few injuries away from having an irrelevant season.
Considering you cannot predict, nor do you have any control over what COULD happen, it would be stupid to not take the best deal on the table.
For all the we know, Brown could be injured half/most the season thus making him going to the Chiefs irrelevant.
You're also not seeing the flip side to this, which it's also an opportunity to take coveted draft picks from your "rival". [Reply]