Seahawks Lose Rookie CB Tre Brown to Patellar Tendon Injury
Putting an exclamation point on a horrible afternoon at Lumen Field, the Seahawks may have potentially lost one of their promising young players for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Speaking with reporters following Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Cardinals, coach Pete Carroll told reporters starting left cornerback Tre Brown suffered a "pretty tough" patellar tendon injury. When asked if the injury could end the rookie's season, he was unwilling to elaborate.
"There's no reason to say that," Carroll responded.
Brown, a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma, suffered the injury at the 7:37 mark in the second quarter while in coverage against veteran receiver A.J. Green on a vertical route. As the corner turned in an attempt to make a play on the football, he lost his footing and his left leg got caught underneath him awkwardly.
Brown managed to bring Green down after the wideout high-pointed the ball for a 31-yard reception, then rolled over grimacing in pain. Trainers rushed out to the field and players from both teams took a knee around him before he eventually hobbled off the field to the locker room on his own power. He was initially ruled as questionable but did not return.
After exiting, Brown was replaced in the lineup by Sidney Jones, who started in place of injured starting right cornerback D.J. Reed. The ex-Washington standout nearly reeled in an interception against Cardinals backup quarterback Colt McCoy in the third quarter after undercutting a hitch route by Green. Unfortunately, the play was reviewed and overturned with officials ruling the ball hit the ground.
Since making his NFL debut in Week 6 against the Steelers, Brown has been a revelation for the Seahawks. Despite being smaller than the prototypical corner Carroll has preferred on the outside in the past, the 5-foot-10, 207-pound defender logged 232 snaps in his first four games, giving up seven receptions on 16 targets for a 43.8 completion rate, 44 yards, no touchdowns, and a 51.0 opposing passer rating per Pro Football Focus.
If Brown suffered a patellar tendon rupture similar to the one tight end Will Dissly underwent surgery for back in 2018, he could be sidelined into next season with up to a 12-month recovery window. That would be a major blow for a Seattle secondary that currently doesn't have any other cornerbacks under contract beyond this season.
In additional injury news, running back Rashaad Penny tweaked his hamstring on the Seahawks opening play after breaking loose for an 18-yard gain. After spending several minutes in the team's blue injury tent, he didn't play the remainder of the first half before seeing a few snaps in the third quarter.
"He felt it. We spent the rest of the first half trying to keep him warm to see if he pulled his hamstring or felt something," Carroll said. "He kind of felt okay and got close to getting back out there, but it wasn't quite right, so I can't tell you what - I don't know about the injury. I just know what he said and what he felt, and so we had to look after him."
In his post-game injury report, Carroll also indicated starting right tackle Brandon Shell played the entire game with a sore shoulder and linebacker Jordyn Brooks had a hip-related issue that was bothering him. Both players stayed in the game throughout and didn't miss any snaps due to injury.
