Getting Set For Return to Houston, Duane Brown Reflects on Time With Seahawks

RENTON, WA — When the Seahawks travel to Houston this weekend for their Week 14 bout with the Texans, it will mark the first time veteran offensive tackle Duane Brown has stepped foot in the stadium he called home for the first nine-and-a-half seasons of his storied professional career.

"I'm excited about it," Brown told reporters on Thursday. "I spent 10 years there; lot of history there. It's gonna be different being at that facility on the visitor's side. I'm looking forward to it, though."

Taken in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Brown amassed two All-Pro selections and made the Pro Bowl three times as a member of the Texans. But as contract negotiations stalled entering the 2017 campaign, he held out for the team's first six games before returning for a back-and-forth shootout with the Seahawks.

Lo and behold, shortly after Seattle's 41-38 win, Brown would be switching sidelines.

"It was wild," Brown said, looking back on that week. "I mean, going into that game, it was some speculation about the possibility of [a trade] happening. So I think myself, along with some of the guys here, kinda didn't know it was gonna happen but kinda thought about it. So there was some conversations about it during the game."

For a third-round draft pick in 2018 and a second-rounder in 2019, the Seahawks landed one of the league's premier left tackles and a fifth-round selection. Thanks to a restructure of quarterback Russell Wilson's deal, the team was able to successfully fit Brown's remaining salary of roughly $5 million under the cap.

Despite the time he missed, Brown played well enough to earn his third career selection to the Pro Bowl. The following summer, Seattle rewarded him for his efforts with a three-year, $36.5 million contract extension.

"You spend your time in one place for so long, going somewhere was just a completely different environment, completely different locker room, you know, coaching staff" Brown reflected on his transition to Seattle. "Everything's different, just having to sit back and observe for a while, and kinda get in where I fit in and then establish myself on the field and in the locker room. That was just something that I had never experienced before and I think it made me a better player. It made me a better person."

With the Seahawks, Brown has notched another All-Pro honor, a division title and a playoff victory. The change in scenery rejuvenated him, resulting in some of his best football despite being on the latter half of his career. In 2020, Pro Football Focus gave him an 87.3 offensive grade—the second-highest mark he's ever received. Appearing in all 17 of the team's games, including playoffs, he allowed just 2.0 sacks on 36 pressures.

This season has played out a bit differently for the 36-year old, however. Through 12 games, the Seahawks have stumbled to a 4-8 record, primarily due to a struggling offensive unit. Brown has not been exempt from these woes, credited with 8.0 sacks surrendered on 27 pressures by PFF.

As of now, FiveThirtyEight.com has given Seattle a three percent chance of making the postseason in a weak NFC wild-card race. But those odds would fall to 0.35 percent with a loss to Houston—a team that has undergone a significant overhaul since Brown's departure.

"There's one person [left from the 2017 team] there," Brown laughed. "One person: [quarterback] Deshaun Watson. I mean, obviously, when I first left, I was still in touch with guys who were there, then I just started slowly seeing them leave. It's crazy, it's crazy the turnover that's happened just in this four year's time. But other than that, I don't pay attention to it too much."

Interestingly, there are more players on the Texans' roster who played with Brown as members of the Seahawks than those who played with him in Houston. That includes center Justin Britt, who spearheaded Seattle's offensive line alongside Brown from the latter's arrival to the former's season-ending knee injury halfway through the 2019 campaign. The other two are receiver Phillip Dorsett and defensive end Jacob Martin.

Given the Seahawks' unlikely path to the playoffs and his impending free agency, Brown may very well be embarking on the final five-game stretch of his time in Seattle—and perhaps his career as a whole. If this is it, he's certainly enjoyed the ride.

"It's been amazing," Brown expressed when asked about the past four seasons. "Everything I could hope for. Like I told some guys, you know, before I got here, I had known some guys on the team and I just talked about the perception outside looking in of the team and the brotherhood, the locker room—it just looked like the ideal brotherhood that you would want on a team. And when I got here, that's everything that I saw, everything I experienced. It's been amazing, know what I mean? So I'm nothing but grateful for my time here."