Current Bengals helped recruit and sell team on Trent Brown in free agency

The Cincinnati Bengals had some help in finding offensive tackle Trent Brown in free agency.

Namely, players who have brushed shoulders with Brown in the past weighed in on the potential signing for the Bengals.

Besides the endorsement from left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., former Patriots teammates like Ted Karras and Mike Gesicki played a role, as explained by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

The endorsement of Orlando Brown Jr., as well as two Patriots teammates now Bengals (Karras and tight end Mike Gesicki), help sell them on signing Trent Brown.

What’s especially interesting is that Brown himself doesn’t have much of a direct connection like the others. But what he did do, though, was meet Trent Brown at a Pro Bowl and kept in touch — while studying his game.

“I did a deep dive into his game after we met at the (2019) Pro Bowl. He’s a big tackle. I’m a big tackle. I would watch him and try to add some of the things he did to my game,” Orlando said, via Hobson. “His footwork in the run game and angles he would take on his down blocks. I’ve got a ton of respect for his game and what he does fits right in with what we do. I always liked his approach to the really good ends, like Von Miller and, at that point, Khalil Mack.”

Orlando and Trent Browm combine for what is the league’s biggest tackle combo in front of Joe Burrow and the former studying the latter because they both check in at 6’8″ makes sense.

More importantly, it’s surely nice for Bengals fans to hear that after a tumultuous few seasons, Brown had endorsements from current players that played into the signing.