ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Darn near the full Chiefs roster — some 85 players — trotted onto the field in St. Joseph on Wednesday morning, and this first column of training camp is about someone who did not.
Someone who chose not to.
Orlando Brown Jr., the team’s starting left tackle — and just about the only Chiefs player whose presence at left tackle doesn’t throw the whole thing up front out of whack, much as the Chiefs will try to convince you there are contingency plans — is not here.
The most obvious victim of that absence? Himself.
We’ll get to the why. Or whys.
First, the reason he’s absent: Brown has not yet signed his franchise-tag tender after he and the Chiefs failed to reach a long-term contract agreement, so he’s basically taking advantage of the only leverage remaining. I use that term loosely, because taking a stand by, ironically, sitting is not going to help any negotiations — those cannot even resume until after the season. So maybe payback is a better word. Or maybe he just has an excuse not to live the dorm life for the next three-plus weeks, and why not use it?
Well, because for every day he misses, there will be make-up work.
For the team.
And for the individual.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid downplayed the psychology of such an absence — it’s part of the business, he reminded — but conceded the importance of being present.
“It’s primarily the new stuff,” Reid said Wednesday. “That’s what it is. He knows the old stuff. And then the reps — the speed of the game.”
There’s the playbook, which has undergone necessary adaptations after the offense absorbed a bit of staleness a year ago. There’s the offensive line’s cohesiveness, a factor in the Chiefs finishing as one of the best five offensive lines in football after a makeover. And then there’s the individual preparedness for NFL games.
The latter might prove to be the most taxing on Brown. For the record, I don’t blame him for not wanting to pack up his things and live in Scanlon Hall at Missouri Western State University in the heat of July and early August, but he’s going to feel the effect on the other end.
It’s not a stretch to say the trenches provide the sport’s most physical play, and Brown ain’t getting rushed by NFL-caliber defensive ends at home.
Over the past few days, I got in touch with professional trainers, those who have notably worked with NFL players, and their conclusion is direct — whenever Brown does ultimately return, don’t expect a seamless transition for his body, particularly after he missed all of the team’s earlier offseason programming, as well.
The NFL has mandated an acclimatization period at training camps — basically, teams must ease their players back into football. The players are not out there wearing pads on Day One, for example. But by the time the Chiefs do don those pads, Brown will likely still be home.
That leaves more variables than answers, and that’s not the situation you’d prefer for the man tasked with protecting Patrick Mahomes’ blind side.
Brown’s conditioning will be a game of what-if. Individual workouts with personal trainers provide a different benefit than on-field work with full NFL teams, even if they have the same end goal. After all, there’s an opponent going full-speed. Much an offensive lineman’s work is about reacting, which prompts specific body movements.
Unprepared? That can trigger soft-tissue injuries. That’s not all that uncommon with players during training camp, but Brown is shortening the window for a return before Week 1 arrives on Sept. 11.
He is not participating in full-padded contact drills that will arrive here in St. Joseph next week. The next time he puts on a helmet — whether that’s in two weeks or a month — will be his first time wearing one in a competitive environment since last year’s AFC Championship Game. As one professional trainer told me, “his neck is going to hurt like crazy.”
These are not certainties. But they are all possibilities. Things NFL trainers have seen before. Things those working with Brown will undoubtedly worry about.
Besides that, there’s the football element of this. Even Brown acknowledged a year ago he needed to “work on some stuff” during the one-on-one drills that training camp offers, his excuse for why he’d routinely get beat by a speed move around the edge. He classified those things as important, but that luxury is gone. And I probably don’t need to remind you that Brown is entering just his second full season as a left tackle after spending his early career on the right side of Baltimore’s offensive line.
We should note the franchise tag is a one-year agreement whenever it is ultimately signed, which leaves Brown playing in another contract year. It’s an important season, in other words.
On Wednesday, the Chiefs opened camp with Roderick Johnson at left tackle. He did not play a snap of NFL football in 2021. Reid has said left guard Joe Thuney shifting one spot to his left could be an option, but not at the moment. That’s because Reid and his staff of assistant coaches know the most likely conclusion to this situation is still that Brown eventually shows up for some portion of camp. A fill-in, for now, makes the most sense.
But it’s not ideal.
Brown, as Reid said, hasn’t gone through the Chiefs’ new plays, not even a dry run over the summer. He’s not here sorting out the communication details with his teammates.
“Last year I felt like I grew so much throughout the playbook (with) my techniques and everything throughout training camp, because it’s 24-7 (that) you’re thinking about football,” center Creed Humphrey said of his own experience. “You’re working on different things at different times of the day. I think it’s a huge help for us. And it really builds the continuity of the offensive line. I mean, you’re with the guys every single day, for most of the day.”
Well, most of the guys.
Not all.
Not yet.
