The Cincinnati Bengals signed former Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency, and wide receiver Tyler Boyd gave reporters some competitive comments about the addition to offseason practices on Tuesday.
Brown, a four-time Pro Bowler, has signed a four-year, $64 million deal that will put him on the protection side of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow instead of Patrick Mahomes. Boyd gave the competition a quick jab when asked about the move.
“We have a nice little rivalry with the Chiefs,” he said. “To see it coming. And I was like, ‘Yeah, we passed you all. but at the end of the day, he’s a great player no matter where he’s gone. He’s probably one of the best at his job, you know, and just adding to what we already have. You know, it’s going to allow Joe (Burrow) to have more time and it’s going to give us the will to rack up those points. So I’m just happy to have it.
There’s no denying the budding rivalry of the Chiefs and Bengals. The teams have met in the last two AFC title games and two more in the past two years. Cincinnati is 3-1 in those matchups. The defeat came in the last AFC league game, which Boyd believes he could have avoided had he been healthy. He recorded two catches for 40 yards before sustaining a deep thigh bruise in the second quarter of the 23-20 loss.
“Still to this day, I feel like if I had played the whole game, I was the key factor,” Boyd said Tuesday via ESPN. “We would have won the match.”
Boyd can’t change the past, but Brown’s presence gives the Chiefs an even more competitive edge.
To that effect, Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce said losing Brown was a tough pill to swallow. “It hurts my soul,” on his New Heights podcast. “It’s like watching your best friend turn on you,” Kelce added.
Kelce and the Chiefs won’t have Brown this coming season, but they will have home-court advantage when the rivals meet at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 31.