When the Chiefs elected to move on from Orlando Brown and the left tackle elected to sign with the Bengals, it added a layer to what’s become one of the AFC’s most intriguing rivalries.
But that move didn’t end the friendship with Brown’s former quarterback.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes was asked about his reaction to Brown signing with Cincinnati on Wednesday.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Mahomes said in his press conference. “I still talk to Orlando. We had a friendship off the field just as much as on the field. You understand how great of a player he is. He makes Cincinnati an even better football team so that stinks for us but at the same time I’m happy for him that he got to a good place where he was able to get a good contract that he deserved and everything like that.
“We’ll still have that friendship, but he’s a competitor like me, so we’re going to be wanting to be able to brag about who wins that football game.”
The Chiefs traded for Brown in April 2021 and he started 33 games at left tackle for the Chiefs over the last two seasons. But Brown and Kansas City could not come to a long-term agreement last summer after the club had used the franchise tag to keep him in the fold. And the Chiefs elected to move on at the start of free agency in March by signing Jawaan Taylor.
Brown, who’s been selected to the Pro Bowl four times, is now with Cincinnati to help solidify the group in front of quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Chiefs and Bengals will meet for what should be a matchup with heavy playoff implications in Week 17 of the 2023 season.