Will the blind side hold out?
It’s been reported that the Kansas City Chiefs and their left tackle Orlando Brown will not reach a long-term agreement. This is major. While most football fans think Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will fall off the face of the earth after losing Tyreek Hill, losing your top/left tackle would prove to be much more disastrous. Brown was traded to the Chiefs from the Ravens prior to the 2021 season under the assumption that the team would sign him to a long-term deal. That is still the case, but it’s proving to be harder than expected. The Chiefs have so far franchise tagged Brown for $16.2 million, but he has yet to sign it. Like most top tier players, Brown would like to be paid as a top 1-2 player at his position. Trading Hill obviously makes this more of a possibility, but the Chiefs (for now at least) have seemed to have settled on a number a tad lower than Trent Williams-type money ($23 million). With no deal in place, Brown could hold out throughout training camp, and Week 1 could be in question. This would be problematic for the Chiefs offense.
While left tackle is one of the most important positions in football, every single one won’t make the same money. In 2021, Brown graded out as the 28th best tackle in the league according to PFF. If the Chiefs’ grade for him is similar, it could help explain the distance in contract negotiations. In fact, Brown graded out (75.1) as just the third-best lineman on his team behind Creed Humphrey (91.4) and Joe Thuney (80.6). Brown, a three-time pro bowler, is certainly worthy of a new deal but at what price is the big question. The bigger question will be how missing him could affect the offense particularly in the passing game. While solid as a run blocker, Brown has consistently been better as a pass protector. Mahomes would miss Brown a great deal if he were to miss time as evidenced by Super Bowl LV when he ran for his life behind a reserve O-Line. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire vying for a year-three breakout and Ronald Jones now in town, Brown’s contract situation affects a lot of fantasy football lives. Should Brown holdout, he will not be subjected to fines as he is currently not under contract with the team.
Windy City Harry
It finally happened. The Patriots traded former first-round selection N’Keal Harry to the Bears for a seventh-round pick. Harry goes from a receiving room where he found it hard to get on the field to a worse team where he’ll still have to compete for a role. In reality, it would’ve been the case regardless of where he was dealt. Never a good fit in New England, the big-bodied receiver was only able to reel in 57 receptions, 598 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons. He’ll now try to fit in on a team that’s in rebuild mode. Darnell Mooney comes into the season as the Bears’ top target, with rookie Velus Jones and Byron Pringle trailing. Second-year quarterback Justin Fields in need of new weapons and an offensive line that won’t get him killed. Cole Kmet figures to work his way in as a second option in the Bears’ passing attack. New Bears coach Matt Eberflus has brought in (offensive coordinator) Luke Getsy in hopes that his experience working with Aaron Rodgers will help the offense. Harry will look to crack the Bears’ receiving rotation during training camp.
The arm is alive!
Colin Cowherd and NFL reporter Michael Silver got completely roasted for letting out a source who told them that Trey Lance suffers from arm fatigue. In fact, they said that “he needed days off” from practice during the 2021 season. Both believe it is the real reason Jimmy Garoppolo is still on the 49ers’ roster. The team has said that it intends to trade Garoppolo this offseason. My personal guess and opinion is it’s all part of the summer offseason when we are without three of the four major sports. Up until this point, Lance’s arm “fatigue” had not been questioned. With Kyle Shanahan being as smart as he is, wouldn’t this be something he figured out during the pre-draft process? Lance’s teammate Brandon Aiyuk posted a throwing session of the two and mocked doubters with the caption “The only three throws from the day, his arm got fatigued after that…”
Aiyuk clowning on the media 😂😂😂! Arm fatigue??… Trey Lance will show them soon.
— 49ersDaddy (@49ersDaddy) July 13, 2022
pic.twitter.com/0t783u05Oa
There are varying opinions on how well Lance will do in the 2022 season. As the presumed starter for a win-now team, he has become very polarizing. In two starts during the 2021 season, Lance went 31-for-52, 441 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions through the air. He added 24 carries for 120 yards on the ground. The young dual-threat quarterback will look to make the year-two leap in 2022. Lance will have no shortage of weapons - - Ayuik, Elijah Mitchell, George Kittle and (presumably) Deebo Samuel will help make things easier on the young QB. There is a wide range of potential outcomes for Lance as far as fantasy goes. Some can see top 3-5 potential and some are leaving him off draft boards altogether. With his skill set, system and talent around him, Lance’s floor is no lower than mid-level QB2. The upside is what we live for.
