Duane Brown, Quandre Diggs return to practice to prepare for Seahawks opener, as expected
The freshest Seahawk to begin the season is the oldest one.
As expected — as it was really was his only viable option, lest he lose more than a half-million dollars per game — Duane Brown ended his “hold in” Monday. The 36-year-old, 14th-year veteran had his helmet on and practiced Monday for the first time in eight months. That was since the day before he played in Seattle’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January that ended the Seahawks’ 2020 season.
After the Labor Day practice, coach Pete Carroll said Brown will be Russell Wilson’s left tackle, as usual, Sunday in the Seahawks’ opener at the Indianapolis Colts.
“You saw Duane?” Carroll said to reporters following practice at the team facility in Renton.
The coach was feigning ignorance, yet was obviously happy to have his best offensive linemen back on the field for the first practice of the regular season.
“Yeah, he’s ready to go. He’s ready to go,” Carroll said. “And we are pleased to have him.”
Carroll joked Brown’s “got fresh legs coming in. He wants to play tight end.
“He probably won’t that chance. But he’s asking.”
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network was on KJR-AM radio with me Aug. 26 and said there had been “some engagement” by the Seahawks late last month to perhaps “sweeten” this final year of Brown’s contract for 2021 with “something creative.” That means adding millions of dollars to his $10 million base salary for this year.
League sources have told The News Tribune the Seahawks remain reluctant to give Brown what he wants: a new deal beyond 2021.
This will be the first NFL regular season to go 17 games. The team wants Brown finish the entire season, they hope deep into January and the playoffs, then see if he still wants to play past his 37th and perhaps 38th birthdays. They may entertain thoughts of a short-term deal with him after the season.
Asked Monday whether they Seahawks made any adds or adjustments to Brown’s 2021 contract to get him back on the field Monday, Carroll said: “We’re really ready to play football right now. That’s where we are.
“Everything that needed to be taken care of is taken care of. Away we go.”
Quandre Diggs also participated in practice Monday, for the first time in weeks. The Pro Bowl safety participated fully in training camp. Then he decided later last month to stop practicing. He also wants the team to address his expiring contract.
Carroll acknowledged Monday only that Diggs practiced. But Diggs back practicing six days before the opener strongly suggests he also is playing Sunday against the Colts, next to Jamal Adams on the back line of the defense.
Brown and Diggs stood to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars per game had they extended their principled stances into the regular season.
They were exercising the only real leverage they had when they had it, in the preseason.
Per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with its players, Brown would have lost $555,556 per game and Diggs’ $330,556 per week in game checks had they skipped games. That’s the 18-week proration of their base salaries for this season.
Carroll had called Diggs not practicing “a statement” on what he wanted.
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a statement,” Diggs said last week. “I would just say I had a couple things that I had to get cleared up for myself, business-wise. ...
“I’ve got a family to feed, also. So for me I had to make the best decision for me. I wouldn’t say it was a statement. I am grateful to be here, and I tell you guys that all the time: I’m grateful to be here. I’m blessed to be a Seahawk.
“I wouldn’t say it was a reset, but there were some things I needed to patch up on my end and get figured out. As soon as the business thing that I’ve got to do is done, signed, sealed, and delivered, I’ll be back at practice.”
He was back Monday.
So was Brown. Wilson said twice last month that was a must for the Seahawks to make happen prior to the start of this season.
True to his sunny persona, Carroll chose to highlight the left tackle avoided wear and tear by not practicing all, warm August.
Except for a few days away to tend to what the coach said was a serious family matter, Brown was at the team facility in Renton throughout training camp and the preseason. He was in position and offensive meetings, in the weight room working out, talking with Wilson and other teammates and participating in walk-through practices most mornings.
Fact is, after 13 NFL seasons, Brown doesn’t need to practice in August to play in September. So his readiness for Sunday is not an issue, not to Wilson, Carroll or the Seahawks.
“All in all, in the camp that he had he was able to put forth, he did all of the learning,” Carroll said, “and he’s really healthy right now. I’m thrilled about that for him.
“One thing that we realized during the process of it is that we would not wear him down during camp, like any player.”
But on Seattle’s questionable offensive line, which will likely have a new anchor with Kyle Fuller expected to start at center Sunday, Duane Brown is not like any other player.
Cornered
Rookie cornerback Tre Brown, the team’s top pick in this spring’s draft, is going to remain out injured at least until the week of Seattle’s third game, Sept. 26 at Minnesota.
That was Carroll’s latest estimation of the former Oklahoma cornerback’s injured knee.
“It’s going to be a bit for him (to get back),” Carroll said. “He’s got a couple things we’re working on. None of them are debilitating. None of them are so serious. It’s just going to take some time.
“It’ll be a couple weeks.”
Brown had been backing up Tre Flowers on the right side.
Since Brown got hurt, the Seahawks have done more moves in the last few weeks than college kids arriving on their campuses.
The team has:
- moved 2020 starting right cornerback D.J. Reed to left corner
- traded training camp starting left cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to Pittsburgh for a fifth-round pick, on Friday
- traded a sixth-round pick to Jacksonville to get former University of Washington cornerback Sidney Jones last week
- traded a conditional seventh-round choice to Houston to acquire John Reid, who is now on the practice squad
- signed cornerback Nigel Warrior off waivers from Baltimore.
Other than that, the Seahawks have been just fine with their cornerback position.
Asked what his concerns would be about the readiness of Jones, Warrior and all the new cornerbacks for Seattle’s season that is now upon it, Carroll smiled.
“My concern would be in terms of their readiness. Exactly what you said,” Carroll said. “Making sure our guys know what’s going on. Sidney’s been here for a week already, so he’s been working at it. He’s familiar with us and our style and technically how we coach guys. His coaches at UW took care of him in great fashion. He’s a really bright kid too, as is John Reid. We just notice these guys pick stuff up really quickly.
“The cornerback spot, it depends. If we try to make them into something different than what they are, then they might struggle. These guys are not — we don’t ask them to do that. We ask them to play in the mentality and the mold that they bring, and then tweak from there. That’s always the way we’ve done it.”
Carroll said Reid has quickly grasped the nuances of the position for the Seahawks, which is Carroll’s unique step-kick technique of jamming then stepping with and turning receivers off the line of scrimmage.
“It took him a couple of days and he was comfortable then he was on the field,” Carroll said. “I think Sidney will do the same thing.”
Until Jones does, the aggressive, 5-foot-9 Reed on the left and the 6-3 Flowers on the right appear on track to start Sunday against Carson Wentz and the Colts.
Parkinson out, Mabry in
Second-year tight end Colby Parkinson remains out with a foot injury, one summer after he broke his foot and missed the first half of his rookie season.
Carroll said the 6-7 target won’t play against Indianapolis.
“He’s on his way back. H just isn’t going to make it yet,” Carroll said.
“We felt like if we don’t have him available here, then we can get a couple weeks to get him ready.”
The Seahawks signed tight end Tyler Mabry, who was with the team last season, off the practice squad to back fill for Parkinson.
Seattle brought back recently waived guard Jordan Simmons to fill Mabry’s vacated spot on the practice squad.
Extra points
- Carroll said after all the roster moves of recent weeks all but two Seahawks players are vaccinated.
- The coach said teammates “overwhelmingly” voted Wilson (offense), Bobby Wagner (defense) and Nick Bellore (special teams) Seattle’s captains for the 2021 season.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 7:07 PM.
