By Brandon Zenner St. Joseph News-PressEven though he’s not contracted with the Kansas City Chiefs at the moment, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. remains in close contact with his quarterback. With Brown yet to sign his franchise tag, and therefore keeping him away from the facility this offseason, Brown and Patrick Mahomes were still spending time together last week, allowing their children to play together. Mahomes spoke to the media at the conclusion of mandatory minicamp, one day after he was with Brown, and expressed his optimism in the two reuniting on a long-term deal. “I hang out with him a lot. He loves football. He loves the Kansas City Chiefs. He loves being here in this organization,” Mahomes said. “And so now, it’s just kind of the stuff that’s always tough — that’s the business side of this.” Back in March, the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on the 26-year-old in hopes of coming to an agreement on a long-term contract. The two sides have until July 15, or Brown will play the upcoming year on a $16.6 million cap hit before becoming a free agent. One notable move toward negotiations was Brown’s hiring of agent Michal Portner. With roughly three weeks remaining to knock out a deal, Chiefs coach Andy Reid knows both sides are at work. “I’m not doing a whole lot of conversing with him, but (general manager Brett Veach) and his crew are. ... These things don’t ever happen overnight. That’s not how it works,” Reid said. “But they’ll work through it. And I know both sides will handle it the right way and come to a spot there that’s good for both Orlando and the team.” After moving on from left tackle Eric Fisher, the Chiefs traded a haul that included a first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Brown last offseason. He would become the starting left tackle along an offensive line with five new starters — Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Lucas Niang and Brown. Mahomes was sacked just 28 times a year ago, fewer than 23 other quarterbacks in the regular season. Only seven of those also played in all 17 games, with Joe Burrow’s 51 sacks being the most in the NFL. For that reason, Mahomes is encouraged he’ll have Brown protect his blindside for years to come. “All of us want to provide for our families in the long term, the next generations. So I know he’s trying to get that all handled,” Mahomes said. “But as far as loving the Chiefs and loving football, there’s not another person in this building that loves it as much as he does.
