Brett Veach: Chiefs ‘Expect’ Orlando Brown Jr. To Be LT Moving Forward

The Kansas City Chiefs' offseason may be mere days old, but the team is already getting a head start on what's up ahead.

On Tuesday morning, general manager Brett Veach spoke with the media about the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, his thoughts on the season and some of Kansas City's priorities in the immediate future. As the offseason enters full swing, the Chiefs will be tasked with juggling the salary cap as they look to retain some of their best players. Quite possibly the top priority on that list is left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.

Brown, who was acquired by the Chiefs via trade last offseason from the Baltimore Ravens, posted a healthy 75.2 PFF grade in 16 starts this season. He also made the Pro Bowl for the third straight year. His rookie contract is expiring and now, he's set to hit the free agent market for the first time in his career. With that said, the Chiefs have the option to franchise tag Brown at a mostly reasonable rate should both sides fail to come to terms on an extension soon. Veach spoke glowingly about Brown in his Tuesday press conference and reiterated that the Chiefs want to bring him back to be their left tackle long-term.

"As far as Orlando, he was a guy that had a dream to play left tackle and had a small sample size of him playing left tackle at Baltimore," Veach said. "We had an opportunity for him to do that and obviously feel like as a whole, our offensive line played outstanding this year. Credit to Coach (Andy) Heck and our coaching staff and I thought our O-Line did a great job. He’s another unique character too where when you talk about a culture and when you talk about a guy that does everything the right way, Orlando Brown is in the category.

"The guy never misses practice, he’s as dependable as there is. That Cincinnati game that we played in the regular season, it killed him that he couldn’t play, and he actually came back on the field and wanted to play with a pulled calf muscle. I think he’s done a great job at left tackle. We’ll certainly work and get him done. We expect him to be our left tackle moving forward.”

In terms of what a possible Brown extension could look like, Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report recently broke down a potential deal that benefits both sides. The Chiefs have made no bones about their willingness to construct a sturdy offensive line to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes and once Brown got acclimated to a new signal-caller and system, he played more than solid football for Kansas City. He projects to fit into the team's short- and long-term plans at left tackle and if Veach's emphasis on Tuesday is any indication, an extension could be on the horizon this offseason.