Seattle Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown did not go through a practice with the team during the entirety of training camp as he hoped to get the team to give a contract extension beyond this season.
An extension never came, but the Seahawks did make an adjustment to his contract that satisfied him enough to hit the practice fields again on Monday ahead of this week’s season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
“I had my expectations for what I wanted,” Brown said Wednesday, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “And they had in their minds what they thought they could get done. What we came to wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it’s OK. It’s a business, and we came to a compromise. I’m happy about it. They are happy about it. Now I’m ready to get to work.”
The Seahawks reportedly converted $1 million in per-game roster bonuses and $6 million in base salary into a signing bonus paid out immediately. The reworked deal also included $2 million in injury protections, facilitated by the addition of a void year to his contract, should he suffer an injury that keeps him from being able to play beyond this season.
Despite turned 36 at the end of August, Brown fully intends on playing beyond this season.
“Something past this year,” Brown said of what he was seeking from the team. “I mean, I’m feeling good. I feel like I’m still playing at a high level, and I want to continue to do that here. “But it didn’t quite work out that way, which is all good. It’s never been any bad blood on my end and I just want to make that be known. I love and respect everybody in this organization and the feeling is mutual. It’s always been a mutual respect throughout this whole process.”
Just because the Seahawks didn’t want to do an extension for Brown now doesn’t mean that won’t want to revisit the subject when this year is over. Not all left tackles are going to continue to play great as they reach their late 30’s. But Brown is an important piece of the Seahawks’ offense and having him back in the fold for the season is a big boost for Russell Wilson ahead of this week’s opener in Indianapolis.
