Questions about Orlando Brown Jr.’s performance may continue to follow him, but the Cincinnati Bengals left tackle isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. Despite two troubling seasons, Brown seems loyal to the Bengals. 

“I’m in a very fortunate situation just in terms of the way we run our organization, the way we operate, it’s a little bit more traditional,” Brown said during his appearance on The Sitdown With Malik Wright. “I just kinda understood that, man. Also developed a great relationship with them over the last few years. It just made the most sense. I love being here, and I’m gonna retire a Bengal when I’m done with the sport, or whenever the Bengals are done with me.” 

Brown has already showcased a good relationship with the Bengals front office from a business standpoint. He notably negotiated a two-year, $32 million deal entirely on his own, without needing an agent. However, critics have been questioning whether his on-field play has taken a step backward. 

“I was one-on-one more often last year than any other tackle in the NFL,” Brown explained. “When you look at that and you break that down and you take time and go look at whoever, any of these tackles that have had the number of games that I have had in one-on-one pass protection, I think you’d just see the reality that the system that I play in, my mistakes are going to glare a lot more than others.

“Because as mentioned, the margin of error and on top of that, for as many pass per reps that I have, it puts me in a more vulnerable position. There isn’t a guy in the NFL that’s been in a more vulnerable position than myself at the left tackle position. I’m not really worried about ‘regression.’ I’m only getting better.” 

ESPN tabbed Brown as one of the weak links for the Cincinnati Bengals this season. He was in the bottom 20 percentile in pass block win rate among left tackles last year. Pro Football Focus graded him 60.3 overall after playing 1,110 snaps.

Sports Illustrated’s Russell Heltman claimed that the number should have been closer to 70. However, he also echoed Brown’s thoughts regarding the low numbers. Cincinnati’s O-line does more one-on-one blocking than any other O-line in the league, Heltman noted.

The Bengals are entering the 2026 season with the same O-line as last year. Burrow considered the unit to be an advantage.

“To have all these guys back is a big advantage early in the season,” Burrow told Bengals insider Geoff Hobson. “You don’t have young guys trying to fit into the mix and learn the communication on the fly. These guys had a lot of reps last year together, and communication is so key on the offensive line, and to be able to have reps at that is so valuable.”