Bengals T Orlando Brown Jr. on the Bengals offseason moves & more | The Insiders

0:01 He has been an all-American, a Super Bowl champ,

0:04 a four-time Pro Bowler, and now Orlando Brown Jr.

0:08 can add another distinction to his resume:

0:12 2026 Breakthrough T1D Cincinnatian of the Year.

0:15 We are pleased to be joined right now by Orlando Brown Jr.

0:19 Orlando, great to see you as always, man.

0:22 Tell me about this honor.

0:23 You've done so much work with that organization, people with type 1 diabetes.

0:26 What did all this getting to celebrate it mean to you?

0:31 Oh, it meant so much, man.

0:32 You know, for me, it's a cause that hits close to home.

0:35 And you know, my brother being diagnosed at 8 years old with type 1 diabetes,

0:40 we're we're a year apart, I'm a year older.

0:42 I was 9 years old when we found out about him.

0:45 And my dad passed away of ketoacidosis which is a form of a diabetic coma.

0:49 And if he had known that that he was diabetic,

0:53 type 1 diabetic, it's something we would have been able to prevent.

0:56 And so my work is more so centered around

1:00 being able to help shine a positive light on it,

1:03 allowing others to know and other family members to know they're not alone.

1:08 You know, it's it's very serious, man.

1:10 I saw the way that and the effect that it had on my family, you know,

1:15 my mom especially, man,

1:16 I don't know if she slept those first five years of his diagnosis.

1:19 And so you know, I think for me, man, just giving back,

1:23 giving that opportunity to shed a positive

1:26 light on those that that deal with it,

1:28 man, and to help preventative measures be taken.

1:34 Great work.

1:35 Let's turn our attention to football because it's been

1:38 a really active off season for the Cincinnati Bengals.

1:41 A lot of it on the defensive side.

1:43 Of course, Dexter Lawrence is the big headline, but there were a lot of moves,

1:47 a lot of changes on the defensive side of the ball.

1:50 When you're an offensive lineman and you're

1:52 watching that happen on the defensive line, what are you thinking?

1:55 How do you feel about all those changes?

1:58 I'm excited, man.

1:59 I'm excited.

1:59 And and to be honest, it's not even just about the talent.

2:03 you know, it's the type of men that they

2:06 brought in to me that speak volumes, man.

2:08 From Dex to, you know, Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook,

2:11 all of these dudes, man., but they're leaders, they're winners.

2:15 It's important to them,

2:16 they love the game of football and everything that it brings, man.

2:19 And so just the the idea that, you know,

2:21 not only did we get better from a talent standpoint,

2:24 we brought in great men and that's so important when you're

2:28 building a football team and trying to establish a winning culture, man.

2:31 So I look forward to being able to get to work with these men.

2:36 I heard your reaction right there when Judy mentioned Dexter Lawrence.

2:38 This doesn't happen with the Bengals.

2:40 They don't make trades,

2:41 much less trading top 10 draft picks to go and get a veteran.

2:44 This guy's been a Pro Bowler.

2:46 He's been one of the best when he's at his best in the game.

2:49 Him specifically.

2:50 What was your reaction when you found out the Bengals had

2:52 actually done this and what does he bring on the field?

2:56 I was shocked, man.

2:58 You know, honestly, cuz guys like that really don't even come become available.

3:02 That's really the the crazy part to me.

3:04 And I'm just thankful he ended up here

3:05 because there's no telling what would have happened.

3:08 He would have been at a divisional rival, man.

3:10 But he just brings such great positive juice to you know a locker

3:14 room that was somewhat missing that on that side of the ball man.

3:18 A leader as I mentioned man,

3:19 he loves the game of football and you know he's just so

3:23 fit for what we are and what it means to be a Bengal.

3:26 I was so fired up when we got him though and every and the trade went through.

3:29 I was actually able to have dinner with him on that Sunday.

3:32 I think the deal went through on that Saturday man.

3:34 So I was fired up.

3:36 I'm still fired up to be honest.

3:37 I can't wait to see him out there Week one.

3:43 Joe Burrow towards the end of last year,

3:45 like mid December, in talking to media sounded notably frustrated,

3:48 certainly with his own injuries and with the way the season had gone.

3:52 It obviously didn't go the way you guys had hoped at the very beginning.

3:57 What kind of sense do you get of where

4:00 Joe's head is right now and how he's approaching 2026?

4:04 Yeah, I think Joe's in a great spot, man.

4:06 I think I think Joe is extremely excited.

4:08 He's ready to go, you know, I remember that interview that he had that day.

4:13 I think it actually might have been his birthday and to be honest,

4:16 he's not a big birthday guy.

4:17 So, you know, it might have caught him at a bad time.

4:20 But I will tell you, man, nobody loves winning more than Joey B.

4:23 So, you know, man, like I said,

4:26 these moves help put us in great position uh overall as a team.

4:29 And, you know, I just look forward to being able to go out there and do my job,

4:32 keeping him clean, score some points, and win some football games.

4:35 It's so funny because the only Joe Burrow we see at this time of year, Orlando,

4:39 is the guy who's showing up in funky outfits

4:42 to like galas and horse races and things like that.

4:44 We all know Joe's a serial killer when he actually gets on the field.

4:48 If he's healthy, which has been the biggest

4:50 issue for a number of years now for Joe,

4:52 how good can this Bengals team be in 2026?

4:55 Oh, great, man.

4:56 I mean, you know, Joe has a lot of pressure on him,

4:59 more so than most other quarterbacks because of our system.

5:02 And you know, the ball is in his hand a lot and he has to make decisions a lot.

5:08 And you know, that's believe it or not, man,

5:10 it's extremely rare just based off of the way that we call a game.

5:13 And so, you know, he's he's locked in, I would tell you, at all times, man.

5:17 Even probably at the Kentucky Derby,

5:19 he's thinking about how to get Ja'Marr open.

5:21 So, that's just who he is.

5:26 We got the schedule release coming up here in a few days.

5:30 You obviously have known the opponents now for a while,

5:32 but as a player, what are you looking for when this schedule comes out?

5:36 What are you hoping for?

5:38 What are you dreading?

5:40 I don't really have any dreads.

5:42 I just would tell you I love playing in prime time, man.

5:45 And you know, we got a lot of star power.

5:47 I think it's time we get a little bit more prime time games.

5:50 So, that's that's what I look forward to, man.

5:52 Hopefully hopefully we get some more.

5:57 Congratulations, man, on a big honor for you,

6:00 the Breakthrough Cincinnatian of the Year.

6:02 You do fantastic work in the community.

6:04 Always a pleasure having you on the show, man.

6:06 Thanks for being here.

6:07 Of course.

6:07 Thank you guys for having me.