Getty Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown
The latest rumor surrounding the Chicago Bears is an intriguing one. After NFL insider Ian Rapoport broke the news on April 7 that the Bears are interested in trading wide receiver Anthony Miller, naturally, fans and analysts alike began to throw likely landing spots out there.
Considering the needs Chicago currently has along its offensive line, it’s no surprise one of the more eye-popping trade rumors being discussed right now involves the Bears trading Miller to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for disgruntled offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr.
Former MVP Lamar Jackson would get another weapon on offense, while the Bears could address a major need on the frontline with the 6-foot-8, 345-pound blindside protector.
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Brown Only Wants to Play Left Tackle
Amidst all the hoopla surrounding the Bears’ rumored interest in trading Miller, NFL Rumors tweeted the following:
While no NFL insiders have confirmed the validity of this rumor, one has come out and stated that after three years in Baltimore, Brown would like to be traded. Rapoport reported in February that Brown wants out of Baltimore, noting the Ravens “would need a major haul” in exchange for the 24-year-old offensive lineman.
Brown has played in all 16 games in each of his first three seasons, making the Pro Bowl in each of the last two while earning an overall grade of 76.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2020. A third-round pick for the Ravens in 2018, he started 10 games as a rookie that year, playing 747 snaps at right tackle. He continued at that position the following year, notching 1,090 snaps. Things changed in 2020, when an injury to starter Ronnie Stanley forced Brown to play the majority of his snaps as a fill-in at left tackle, which was the position he played in college for the Oklahoma Sooners. On January 29, about two weeks after Baltimore was eliminated from the playoffs, Brown took to Twitter to express his thoughts about which position he wanted to play moving forward:
I’m a LEFT Tackle.
When asked in March whether the team would trade Brown, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told the team’s official website, “We’ll do what’s best for Orlando and we’ll do what’s best for the Ravens. These things take time sometimes. There’s a lot of different scenarios with how this thing could play out. But we are blessed to have him on the team. He’s an excellent player.”
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Miller Could Be Traded or Cut Closer to the NFL Draft
While this trade would be beneficial for the Bears, they’d likely have to release or trade current left tackle Charles Leno Jr., and there appears to be no huge market for Miller. Considering rumors of Chicago’s desire to trade the wide receiver have leaked a few times now, it signifies a pretty weak market for the fourth-year wideout.
One Bears insider thinks Miller could be traded when the 2021 NFL Draft rolls around later this month.
“It would not be surprising to see Miller included in a trade on draft weekend. Mid-to-late round draft picks are constantly swapped on Days 2 and 3 of the draft and (Bears GM Ryan) Pace is frequently involved in those movements. Miller could be included in one of those deals,” Bears insider Adam Hoge wrote Monday. “A team trading for Miller would acquire him for $1.21 million that is not guaranteed. It’s a relatively low-risk gamble.”
We’ll see what happens.
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