Amidst Jamal Adams Negotiations, Seahawks Must Make Things Right With Duane Brown
Much of the focus has been placed on the Seahawks' ongoing contract negotiations with safety Jamal Adams this summer, letting a potential impasse with left tackle Duane Brown fly well under-the-radar.
Of course, Adams is the young All-Pro who the Seahawks famously traded two first-round selections for. He's coming off a record-setting season for sacks by a defensive back (9.5) and did so playing through significant groin, finger and shoulder injuries. Brown, on the other hand, is 35 years old—soon to be 36—with many speculating 2021 to be his final season in the NFL.
Taking all of that into consideration, it's relatively easy to understand which of the two takes priority in the minds of fans and possibly even the team itself.
But now, the curtain has been pulled back a bit and not only is Brown planning to play beyond this season, he's reportedly "unhappy" with the fact he has yet to receive an extension. Mike Garofolo of NFL Network was the first to report the veteran tackle's desire for a new contract back in June, and Seahawk Maven's Corbin Smith took a deep dive into what the structuring of a deal could look like shortly thereafter.
Brown has been present at the team's training camp since it started in late July, but he has yet to participate in practice—similar to Adams. In meeting with the media, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has shrugged off Brown's absence as merely their way of keeping him healthy and out of unnecessary work, but ESPN's Adam Schefter claims there's more to the story.
Despite his age, Brown remains one of the best offensive tackles in today's game. Last year, he finished sixth among tackles with a Pro Football Focus grade of 87.3. He's built a strong relationship with quarterback Russell Wilson and has served as the leader of an offensive line unit that's undergone significant changes since 2017. With that, plus the understanding that he has no intentions of retiring anytime soon, this should be an easy decision for the Seahawks to give him what he's earned.
They also don't have much of a succession plan in place nor a clear path to find one. Back in May, they prioritized Florida's Stone Forsythe on the third and final day of the draft, but scouts believe the 6-foot-8 offensive tackle is better suited for the right side rather than Brown's home on the left.
Seattle also won't be able to draft one of next year's top prospects at the position, dealing away its first-round pick to New York for Adams. And the free agency market is expected to be fairly barren, featuring just three left tackles—Brown, Terron Armstead and Charles Leno Jr.—who finished with a PFF grade of 74.6 or better in 2020.
Simply put: Brown appears to be the Seahawks' only option to confidently protect their superstar quarterback's blindside in 2022. Therefore, retaining him for the long-term and doing so now must be of the utmost importance. Because as good as Adams is, a healthy Brown is equally—or arguably more—important to the team, which has proven to be incapable of getting where it wants to go without an answer at left tackle.
