Duane Brown wants a new Seahawks deal. The respected LT has his own way of showing it
There are the Aaron Rodgers and Stephon Gilmore ways of showing unhappiness with their teams and contracts.
Then there’s Duane Brown’s characteristically respectful way.
Rodgers shook the NFL and especially Green Bay last week. The league’s reigning MVP skipped the Packers’ mandatory minicamp to protest his team’s decision-makers and his future. Gilmore isn’t happy with his contract situation in New England. The 2019 NFL defensive player of the year is staying away from Patriots’ minicamp this week.
Brown? Seattle’s Pro Bowl veteran left tackle and best offensive lineman also wants a new deal. But instead of blowing off mandatory minicamp, one of the most respected and professional players inside the Seahawks’ locker room was on their field Tuesday.
Wearing team sweatpants and sweatshirt under his blue number-76 practice jersey, Brown stood in the back of the offensive line drills. He was the only blocker without a helmet. He did not directly participate in drills or practice at all.
But he was involved.
The 14-year veteran dispensed tips from the edge of the practice field nearest the edge of Lake Washington. He pantomimed hand- and footwork with guard Phil Haynes. He talked with Brandon Shell, his opposite as Seattle’s starting right tackle. He advised his replacement at left tackle for the day, backup Jamarco Jones.
He appeared to be anything but a malcontent making waves.
“We’re helping Duane get through a great offseason. He’s doing great right now,” coach Pete Carroll said after excusing Brown from practicing in this minicamp. “We’re just going to cruise on through it so that he’s at his very best.”
Brown, 35, has told the Seahawks he wants a contract beyond his current one that ends with the 2021 season.
“We are always talking about the business stuff, so that is always something that is topical because he is in his last year, coming up,” Carroll said. “But everything is going great, and he’s had a great offseason so far. Better than it was last year. He’s ahead of schedule.
“So he’s in good shape.”
Brown is scheduled to earn $10 million in base pay plus $1.35 million in per-game and other bonuses in this final year of the $34.5 million extension he signed with Seattle in 2018. His $13.3 million salary-cap charge for this year is the team’s third-highest, behind Russell Wilson ($32 million) and Bobby Wagner ($17.1 million).
Yet as usually happens in the NFL, a top veteran contract signed three years ago is outdated. Few in football would try to argue Brown is not one of the 10 best left tackles in the league. He’s been that for a decade. Yet he is only 16th among NFL left tackles in average value per year entering 2021.
Taylor Decker ($15 million), Dion Dawkins ($14,575,000), Jake Matthews ($14.5 million) all average well more than Brown. Arizona’s D.J. Humphries is 10th in the league in average earned per year at $14.58 million. Humphries is eight years younger than Brown. He signed his three-year deal with the Cardinals in 2020, two years after Brown re-signed with the Seahawks.
The Seahawks used one of their team-record-low three picks in this spring’s draft on 6-foot-8 Stone Forsythe. The left tackle from Florida is here to learn during his rookie year under Brown, and perhaps eventually take over at left tackle when Brown retires.
It’s been widely thought Brown, who turns 36 in August, will play out his contract then perhaps call it a career after 14 years in the league.
What he’s doing this week—and for the last year-plus, really—makes clear he doesn’t intend to retire after 2021.
With arms as wide as sewer pipes and shoulders as broad as I-405, Brown in the last year has taken up more yoga and stretching pre- and post-workouts. He’s said that has given him a new vitality and renewed energy for the game he’s been playing since before he was at Hermitage High School in Richmond, Virginia, at the turn of this century.
To keep him refreshed last season, Carroll and the Seahawks gave Brown most mid-week practices off. So missing three days in shorts and helmets in June, or even practices in training camp into August, isn’t going to matter. Just so long as Brown is at left tackle on Sept. 12 when the Seahawks open the season at Indianapolis.
“He’s a remarkable player, and a remarkable athlete,” Carroll said. “He takes great care of himself, and has given himself to have an extended career beyond what most guys can make it.
“We love him. He’s a big part of what we’re doing. And we’re counting on him being with us. We’ll look down the road together, and we’ll see what’s the right thing to do coming up. He’s just been a great part of our program. His leadership. His toughness. What he stands for as a man. He’s just a remarkable guy.
“So we would love for him to be with us.
“If he wants to keep playing, we want him to keep playing.”
For Seattle. Beyond 2021.
Carson, Smith missing
Besides safety Jamal Adams being away for what Carroll said was a personal matter requiring his attention, lead running back Chris Carson and defensive end Aldon Smith were the other of the 90 Seahawks not in minicamp Tuesday.
“Chris is working on bringing a baby into the world, so he has to be there,” Carroll said.
“And, yes, our guys are excused.”
Carroll didn’t specify why he excused Smith. The former All-Pro pass rusher Seattle signed as a free agent this spring turned himself in to authorities in Louisiana in April. He’s been free on bond after an alleged battery at a coffee shop just outside New Orleans. He has a court date scheduled for next month.
Penny, Eskridge mending
As they did last week during voluntary OTAs, running back Rashaad Penny and top rookie draft pick D’Wayne Eskridge watched practice Tuesday without a helmet.
Carroll said Penny this offseason had a “clean-up” procedure on the knee surgeons reconstructed in late 2019. Penny missed 12 months then returned in a limited fashion last December.
“He’s working out, doing a ton of stuff,” Carroll said, but the team’s first-round pick in 2018 is not quite ready for practicing. The coach said Penny should be ready for training camp.
The Seahawks decided last month not to pick up the fifth-year option first-round picks can get onto their rookie contracts. So this is the final year of Penny’s deal. He enters 2021 as the planned backup to Carson again. Alex Collins and DeeJay Dallas are among his challengers.
“Every year is important, and this one is for him, for sure, as much time as he missed last year,” Carroll said of Penny. “You know, sometimes a knee—he had a serious injury—it just takes a whole ‘nother year to get back. ...
“He can run full speed. We just want to make sure the strength is balanced out in his quads. So there’s no reason for us to take a chance right now.”
Eskridge, Seattle’s second-round pick in April, has a big toe injury, Carroll said.
The coach said this is valuable time the rookie is missing getting used to catching Wilson’s passes and learning new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense.
Yet Eskridge is catching Wilson’s throws, without running the routes.
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 7:20 AM.
