Orlando Brown Jr.’s time with the Baltimore Ravens looks as though it’s coming to an end. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Brown wants to be traded to a team that will start him at left tackle.
Brown had been selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft and eventually made his way to the starting lineup at right tackle midseason. However, after left tackle Ronnie Stanley went down with a season-ending knee injury in 2020, Brown was shifted over to the left side where he performed incredibly well, ultimately getting his second Pro Bowl nod in three seasons.
Now that Brown has proven himself at the premier position and is entering the final year of his rookie contract, he doesn’t want to give it up. Brown took to Twitter more than a month ago, asserting himself as a left tackle. He eventually followed up the decree by explaining it was his father’s dream to see him play at left tackle.
While the Ravens would undoubtedly love to retain Brown for 2021 and likely beyond, if he’s adamant about staying on the left side, Baltimore might not have much of a choice here. The Ravens signed Stanley to a five-year contract extension just days before suffering his season-ending knee injury, all but locking him in as the team’s left tackle. Even if Baltimore was willing to pay two players upper-tier left-tackle contracts, there’s only one left tackle position on the offensive line.
According to Rapoport, the Ravens could be willing to deal Brown this offseason but it’s not going to be cheap. Since Brown has cemented himself as one of the better young tackles in the league, and it’s one of the more important positions on the field, other teams are going to have to offer major compensation in return, per Rapoport.
It’s unclear exactly what that might entail but considering the value Brown is on the final year of his rookie deal and the importance of the position, it’s likely going to take some early-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft to make a deal happen. That should go a long way to helping Baltimore retool their offensive line and add some more talent throughout the rest of the roster this offseason.
