Orlando Brown Jr. Highlights Healthy Trend Up As 2026 Offseason Rolls Along

Orlando Brown Jr. appeared on First Word With James Rapien this week and noted how healthy he feels entering the heart of the 2026 offseason.

Brown dealt with injuries in 2024 and 2025, but has put those behind him this spring. The 2024 season is the only regular season in Brown's career where he's missed multiple games. Week 17 in 2018 was the lone game he missed before that 2024 groin injury knocked him out of six contests.

Back To Full Health

Dec 28, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (75) runs onto the field before the game against the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Ironman has built his strength back up fully from that ding and a broken fibula he played through to start every game last season.

"I'm gonna call it an anomaly, but I really pride myself on being available for my teammates and my coaches," Brown said on the show this week. "It's just something my dad ingrained in me early in the sport, and some of those injuries were tough for me to deal with and get over, because with the groin, it's such an important muscle, it was literally my post leg, so I constantly needed it to drive off and extend.

"So it was tough, if I got into certain positions, I just didn't feel like I was able to move, and the broken fibula the following year, that one sucked, really, because that was an impact injury, as someone hit me in my fibula and broke my leg, so that one wasn't necessarily soft tissue, so it just hurt me differently. That's the first broken bone I've ever had in my life, and I was 28-29 years old. But going into this year, man, I've never felt better, even (compared to) last season, my body feels great. I feel healthy. I'm ready to go."

Brown has taken on a larger vocal leadership role each season of his tenure in Cincinnati, and that's grown more this offseason.

He's part of a ton of offensive continuity for the Bengals, from the fully returning offensive line to a pretty-much fully retained coaching staff to keep them sharp.

Brown is impressed with the "great men" who've joined the roster as well.

"They brought in a lot of amazing football players, but to me, what's most important is great men," Brown noted. "And we talk about being able to build something special and sustainable. It starts with the type of people you bring into the building, and so just with guys like Dex (Dexter Lawrence), Bryan Cook, Boye Mafe, three names that stand out for me, and I think that's huge."

The whole group is sharpening things even more this month before training camp. Check out more from the Bengals offensive tackle below:

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