The Cincinnati Bengals made a huge move in free agency on Wednesday landing the top offensive tackle available. Cincinnati agreed to terms with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and according to ESPN NFL report Jeremy Fowler, the Pittsburgh Steelers were among the teams showing interest in Brown.
The contract for Brown works out to four years and $64 million with a massive $31 million signing bonus. Definitely too rich for Pittsburgh but it is telling. It’s great that the Steelers were at least in the fold for the top available offensive tackle in free agency. But having missed on Brown, what will the Steelers do now?
Offensive tackles are being paid a premium in this market and the Steelers just don’t have the money to compete. So if the front office is looking to upgrade starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr., signing a free agent from the next tier down won’t really solve their problems.
This means the biggest takeaway from this is if the Steelers find an offensive tackle this big of a need, the position will certainly be in play with the No. 17 overall pick.
Among teams that showed interest in Orlando Brown, per agent Michael Portner: The #Steelers and #Jets. Bengals put deal over the top with strong guarantees over long term. @TomPelissero 1st on the deal.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 16, 2023
