Spencer Brown deserves patience from Bills at right tackle

Bills player Spencer Brown takes part in a training camp workout on Day 1 at St. John Fisher University.

Buffalo Bills fans need to slow their roll on the negative perception of right tackle Spencer Brown. Deep breaths, people.

Every time Brown gets beaten on a pass rush, there seems like a rush to judgment on the third-year veteran.

Brown still is a young player with a lot of promise. The Bills need to give Brown a long rope in order to prove he can be a quality NFL starter. A lot more rope.

There are a couple big reasons why it behooves the Bills to be extremely patient with Brown’s development in the starting lineup.

No. 1, Brown has excellent traits. You want to make bets on guys with the talent and athleticism to compete with the all-world athletes who play defensive end in the NFL. Brown has the traits.

He has uncommon mobility for a tackle who is 6-foot-8½, with 34-inch long arms. A lot of tackles that tall are a little stiff bending at the knees. Not Brown. He had ridiculous testing numbers entering the 2021 NFL Draft, when the Bills picked him in the third round. His 40-yard dash time of 4.94 would rank among the top 20 tackles at the NFL Scouting Combine the last 20 years. His 20-yard shuttle time of 4.40 would have tied for sixth among all OTs the past 20 years.

No, football isn’t played in T-shirts and shorts. But Brown has had some good moments for the Bills, contrary to conventional social media thinking. He missed all of last offseason – spring ball and training camp – coming off back surgery. He struggled last year, no question. If 2022 in total is what Brown is, it’s not good enough. But Brown started to improve late in the year as his body felt better, and he had a pretty good last month of the regular season.

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown stretches during a recent practice.

He was good in the December home win against Miami, handling Melvin Ingram, who had given him fits previously. He yielded three hurries to budding Miami star Jaelan Phillips but won some battles vs. Phillips, too. Phillips did better against Brown in the Bills’ playoff win over the Dolphins, getting five hurries against him, according to The Buffalo News charting. But Brown had some wins against Phillips, too.

There’s a lot for line coach Aaron Kromer to work with in Brown.

The second big reason is replacement cost. If Brown flops this year, right tackle will be a hard problem to solve in the offseason.

Even middle-of-the-road starting tackles in free agency are expensive. The Bills will not have big bucks to spend next spring. And the free-agent tackle crop for 2024 looks bad. And thin. So the Bills will have to spend for a low-level, marginal veteran tackle just to get a warm body on board.

Then the Bills will be faced the likelihood of needing to invest their first-round pick in a right tackle. That’s fine — as long as there is a right tackle worth picking when it’s their turn to select. You’d rather not be boxed into a position at the top of the draft. (It must be noted that even if Brown plays great this year, the Bills are going to need to draft a tackle or two at some point in the 2024 draft.)

This isn’t to say the Bills should not be on the lookout for help at tackle. The season-ending injury to Tommy Doyle makes tackle depth a big worry. Second-year former undrafted free agent Ryan Van Demark and veteran David Quessenberry currently are battling for the No. 3, swing tackle job.

The Arizona Cardinals are an obvious place to look for depth. The Cardinals are one of the few teams with a surplus at the position. Their backups are: Josh Jones, a 2020 third-round pick who has started 21 games the past two years; and Kelvin Beachum, a 34-year-old who’s an 11-year starter. Neither are starting because Arizona drafted Paris Johnson Jr. sixth overall out of Ohio State.

Every team in the league with depth concerns at tackle probably has called the Cardinals, so don’t get your hopes up. Jones is in the last year of his contract. I’d probably offer up Boogie Basham to the Cards, but I wouldn’t give up any draft pick other than a late-rounder.

“Sometimes, it’s important that we can get somebody into the game who can line up and execute right away,” Beane said. "He might not be as fast as the other guy who tried out, but if the fast guy can’t line up, that doesn’t do us any good.”

The first month of the season will be no picnic for the Bills’ right tackle. The Jets have one of the speediest situational edge rushers in the NFL in Bryce Huff, who plays left end. Week 2 brings the Raiders and Maxx Crosby. Week 3 brings the Commanders and Montez Sweat. Crosby is one of the top five left defensive ends in the NFL. Sweat is top 12. Then Phillips and the Dolphins come to town Week 4.

Brown will take some lumps. But if he can stay healthy and keep his head above water the first month, that will be a victory.

It would be colossally better for the Bills if Brown ascends this year. That’s why I’m still on his bandwagon.

Feed your obsession. Start every morning with a guide to the latest news from One Bills Drive and stay informed about what is going on elsewhere in the NFL.

Bills/NFL writer

It’s obvious at this point of the NFL preseason that the Bills’ No. 3 wide receiver position is going to be filled by some sort of committee. …