Returning From Injury, Seahawks Banking on Tre Brown Further Bolstering Talented Secondary

RENTON, Wash. - Nearly a full calendar year after suffering a patellar tendon injury in a loss to the Cardinals, Tre Brown finally can see the light at the tunnel as he nears his long-awaited, hard-earned return for the Seahawks.

On the PUP list since the start of training camp in late July due to a prolonged recovery from knee surgery, Brown returned to practice for the first time on Wednesday, opening his 21-day window to be activated to Seattle's 53-man roster. Keeping tabs on him throughout his arduous journey, coach Pete Carroll couldn't contain his excitement about getting him back on the field.

“I’ve watched him workout in his rehab work, and he has been flying around," Carroll said to reporters prior to Wednesday's practice. "He’s ready to go, and he’s been chomping at it for a few weeks now, but they [trainers] really wanted to make sure. We haven’t seen him on the field yet, he was in walkthrough today. I’m so excited to see him back out here."

It's been a long, winding road for Brown working his way back from a difficult injury that has altered many NFL careers over the years. Ensuring he wouldn't be rushed back and make a complete recovery before being cleared to play again, the Seahawks have employed caution throughout his rehab process, choosing to slow play his progression towards full sprints and cutting drills rather than force the issue.

Since Brown's injury a year ago, Seattle's secondary has undergone a substantial transformation and the group bares little resemblance to the one he last played with. When he was helped off the field last November against Arizona, D.J. Reed was starting across from him with Ugo Amadi in the slot and Sidney Jones, Bless Austin, and John Reid serving as backups.

Fast forwarding to the present, Jones is the only one of those five players on the current roster and the veteran hasn't been able to crack the starting lineup with Mike Jackson playing well on the left side and rookie phenom Tariq Woolen pushing for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors on the right side. In the slot, another upstart rookie in Coby Bryant has quickly blossomed into a viable starter as well.

Given the presence of Woolen, Bryant, and Jackson, Brown will be returning without any guaranteed playing time beyond special teams. However, as Carroll pointed out, it was only a year ago that the then-rookie out of Oklahoma was making a similar impact to Woolen and Bryant and looked like a long-term starter in his own right, impressing the coaching staff with his practice habits and work ethic.

"Remember, when he left, he was playing darn good football," Carroll said of Brown. "He had just started to make his impression about how he was really consistent, he was tough, and competitive on the ball. He was really consistent with the parts that I liked about him for a young guy."

After opening his first season on injured reserve battling a separate knee injury, Brown shined in his debut rotating in as a reserve in an overtime loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Providing his team a chance to steal a primetime road victory without starting quarterback Russell Wilson available, he blew up receiver Ray Ray McCloud on a third down bubble screen at the line of scrimmage to force a punt, drawing cheers from teammates and coaches on the sideline.

Following two strong showings rotating into the lineup as a backup, the Seahawks thrust Brown into the starting lineup in Week 8 against the Jaguars. Excelling in his first start, he allowed only two receptions for seven yards on five targets. The following week, he generated a clutch fourth down pass deflection against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field and didn't allow a completion on two targets in a close road defeat.

Unfortunately, Brown's stellar rookie season came to an abrupt end after only five games when his knee buckled while trying to defend a go route against star receiver A.J. Green the ensuing week and Seattle has had to patiently wait for his return.

Now that he's back in the mix, Carroll hopes to see Brown jump right in and enter the competition in a suddenly crowded cornerback group. With Woolen entrenched at right cornerback, he will most likely see reps on the left side pushing Jackson, who has performed well starting all seven games for the Seahawks so far while Jones and Artie Burns have rotated with him. It's also possible he could get a look in the slot, though the presence of Bryant and veteran Justin Coleman makes that less probable.

At this time, Carroll doesn't know when Brown will be ready for game action and the Seahawks will take things one day at a time with him. Considering the nature of his injury, they won't activate him until they know he's truly ready. Down the road, depending how quickly he progresses back into game shape, he's banking on him returning to his pre-injury form and further fortifying an emerging young secondary that looks poised to be a great one for years to come.

"In my mind, I’m picking up where we left off, away we go. Let him start battling, and see where he fits in with the competition. He will make us better for sure. I just hope that he can stay healthy, stay out there, and it works out for him.”

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