Confirmed: Justin Britt will have major surgery for ACL. Could his Seahawks time be over?
Justin Britt knew it was the end.
Not just of his season. Possibly, his time with the Seahawks.
The team’s center and a starter since he was its second-round draft choice in 2014 indeed has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and needs “major,” reconstructive surgery, coach Pete Carroll said Monday.
“He has an ACL, yeah. He has to have major repair,” Carroll said, after saying Sunday after the win at Atlanta the team feared just that.
On Tuesday, the Seahawks put Britt on injured reserve and promoted guard Jordan Roos from the practice squad to take Britt’s place on the 53-man roster. They had waived Roos last week to make roster room for adding safety Quandre Diggs in a trade from Detroit. When Roos cleared waivers Seattle signed him back to the practice squad late last week.
Not only is the injury season-ending for Britt. It could be Seattle-ending.
It’s the cold business of the NFL—and another example of why players want to get all the money they can from this business when they can. They know their earning power for the rest of their lives can change or end on the next play.
Britt’s three-year, $27 million contract extension he signed in Aug. 2017 ends after the 2020 season, thanks to the team picking up his option for next year in the spring of 2018. Like most veteran extensions, the salary-cap charges for his extension years balloon in the final years, back-loaded to be more cap friendly up front at the start of the deal.
The Seahawks could save $8.75 million against next year’s cap by releasing the 28-year-old who has been a Pro Bowl alternate for them at center after he failed at tackle then at guard his first two seasons with the team. Britt’s $11.67 million cap charge is scheduled to be the fourth-highest on the team in 2020. That’s behind only franchise pillars Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner then Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown and ahead of top wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
That’s a hefty chunk of the team’s salary cap to a veteran who will be 29 and likely not on the field until September or October, after next season begins. Recoveries from reconstructive knee surgeries generally take 12 months or so, and players usually don’t come back from it immediately as the same performers they were prior to the injury. Not right away.
It’s the same situation the Seahawks had with Richard Sherman following his torn Achilles in Nov. 2017. Rather than absorb his $11 salary-cap charge for 2018 as he returned for an injury as major as Britt’s, Seattle released its All-Pro cornerback and previous team cornerstone in the spring of ‘18, weeks before his 30th birthday.
Sherman is now in his second season playing for NFC West-rival San Francisco, which is off to 7-0 start this season.
It’s not entirely an all-or-nothing proposition for Britt. He could agree to renegotiate his 2020 salary to make it more cap friendly for the team. He could also reach an injury settlement of a cash payment if the team were to release him while still unfit to play.
Britt has been Seahawks’ starting center and anchor of the offensive line since a second position change in 2016. He went down in the first quarter of Sunday’s win at Atlanta, on Seattle’s sixth offensive play. He got the back of his legs run up on during a 1-yard run inside by Rashaad Penny.
Britt stayed down for a minute or so. Then trainers and the team doctor helped him off the field. As he walked off gingerly, he had a word with his replacement likely for the rest of this season if not beyond, Joey Hunt.
Then, on the sideline, Britt angrily slammed his helmet into the turf. He was seen with reddened eyes and his face buried in a towel. He wore the towel around his neck when he eventually went into the locker room with team medical personnel.
He emotions portrayed the gravity of his present and immediate future with the team.
Yet quarterback Russell Wilson said Britt was the first man in the locker room, sunny side up, congratulating his Seahawks on routing Atlanta early then holding on to win 27-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Right after the game, he was right at the door for us, cheering us on,” Wilson said of the veteran who has been his trigger man and line-protection caller the last three years.
“How he was in the locker room postgame, that’s just who he is.”
Carroll said depth at center behind Hunt is now a team priority to fill. The league’s trading deadline is 1 p.m. Tuesday. The coach confirmed the Seahawks are making and taking calls on potential deals, as usual, but it was relatively quiet on that front as of Monday afternoon.
Hunt, Seattle’s sixth-round pick in 2016, will be the starter the rest of this season. His fourth NFL start will come Sunday when the Seahawks (6-2) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5).
Brown said after Sunday’s game he was praying for Britt in his recovery.
“It sucks. ...He’s a big, dominating presence, a very physical player,” Brown said of his center. “He gets guys motivated.”
Now, his motivation is in rehabilitating his knee, and learning where his career and life goes next.
Britt posted Monday on his Instagram social-media account: “You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.. This is another chapter in my book and I can’t wait to write it. It’s going to be magnificent! I appreciate all the love and support from everyone, especially my teammates. Love this team and can’t wait to see where we take this thing!”
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 4:23 PM.
