Bengals $119 Million Starter Called Out After Preseason Game

CINCINNATI, OHIO - DECEMBER 28: Orlando Brown Jr. #75 of the Cincinnati Bengals prepares to take the field prior to a game against the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) Getty

Cincinnati Bengals football is officially back. The team kicked off its preseason with a 16-14 win over the Detroit Lions.

The game featured the debut of some new players, like three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, alongside some of the team’s exciting young players from this year’s rookie class.

Unfortunately, while the team’s first preseason game brought some optimism to the fanbase, it also showed some signs of concern. Now, a Cincinnati Bengals analyst has called out a player for his performance against the Lions.

Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Lineman Called Out

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FanSided’s Matt Fitzgerald wrote for StripeHype about some winners and losers in Cincinnati’s preseason opener. Among the losers was Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr.

Fitzgerald wrote: “Everyone, I had to pick a loser and as harsh as it was, Orlando Brown Jr. gets the nod here. I love me some OBJ. He’s a steady anchor at left tackle for the most part. Solid if not spectacular.

But somebody’s gotta lose — and did Brown ever lose on Thursday night in one big moment that, thank goodness, didn’t prove too costly.

Brown let an undrafted rookie who had 2.5 sacks at Rutgers last year, Eric O’Neill, absolutely smoke him around the edge on a key third down. Burrow unloaded an incompletion/half throwaway to Tight End in Name Only Mike Gesicki just before O’Neill blew up Joe Shiesty’s upper body/shoulder area and sent him to the canvas.

Not great! O’Neill doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page. Trust me, I checked. To paraphrase Matthew McConaughey’s immortal Wooderson, it’d be a lot cooler if he did.

Uncool thing: Seeing Burrow get popped like that in preseason Week 1.

I’m sure Brown will get it dialed back in.”

While Burrow appeared to be fine after Brown’s mistake led to him getting sacked, it is never good to see a franchise cornerstone take a hit like that in a preseason game.

Orlando Brown Jr.’s Tenure With Cincinnati

Brown Jr. originally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals prior to the 2023 season on a four-year, $64 million contract. Since then, he has started 45 games for the Bengals. While Brown Jr. has not made a Pro Bowl with the Bengals, after earning Pro Bowl selections in each of his four seasons before joining the team, he did earn a two-year, $32 million contract extension this offseason. After this latest contract extension, Brown Jr.’s career earnings will be over $119 million.

Despite his extension, Pro Football Focus did not think highly of Brown Jr.’s play last season. He was ranked 66th among 89 qualified tackles, and received a below-average grade in both pass protection and run blocking. Hopefully, the 2026 season proves to be better for Brown Jr., who is an integral part of this team, although Thursday’s preseason game showed cause for concern.

Overall, Cincinnati’s offensive line was ranked as the 20th-best unit heading into the 2026 season by Pro Football Focus. PFF’s Gordon McGuinness wrote : “The Bengals’ offensive line was not a back-breakingly awful unit in the second half of the 2025 season. That was thanks to the emergence of rookie Dylan Fairchild at left guard and second-year right tackle Amarius Mims. Mims, in particular, took a huge stride forward in the second half of the year, with just one game with a PFF grade below 70.0 from Week 12 onward.”

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