Sources: Seahawks getting Duane Brown from Texans for Jeremy Lane, picks

ByBrady Henderson ESPN logo
Tuesday, October 31, 2017

RENTON, Wash. -- The Seahawks have acquired Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown in a trade with the Texans, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Seattle is sending cornerback Jeremy Lane to Houston along with a 2018 fifth-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick, sources told Schefter.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider confirmed that the trade has been agreed upon but said it had not been fully finalized yet. The trade comes one day before the NFL's Tuesday trade deadline and one day after the Texans lost to the Seahawks in Seattle.

Schneider said the Seahawks are inheriting Brown's current deal from Houston, which runs through 2018, and that there is no new deal beyond that. Brown is owed about $5 million for the remainder of this season and is scheduled to make $9.75 million in 2018.

"Because we acquired Duane, we want him to finish his career here and have him be here for several more years," Schneider said.

Brown, 32, has spent his entire 10-year career with Houston, which selected him in the first round in 2008 out ofVirginia Tech. He returned last week from a holdout and played 68 out of 71 offensive snaps Sunday against Seattle.

Brown posted a goodbye message to the Texans and their fans via his Instagram account.

Asked earlier Monday about the possibility of the Texans trading Brown, coach Bill O'Brien said: "I don't have any say in that. You know what I mean? I coach the team, that's what I do. Duane played well yesterday. Obviously he's played well for us for a number of years. I have a lot of respect for Duane, but that's the business side of things, and I just concentrate on coaching the team."

On Friday, Brown was a vocal critic of Texans team owner Bob McNair's comment saying, "We can't have the inmates running the prison" during last week's owners meeting in reference to ongoing player demonstrations during the national anthem.

"I think it was ignorant," Brown said. "I think it was embarrassing. I think it angered a lot of players, including myself. We put our bodies and minds on the line every time we step on that field, and to use an analogy of inmates in prison, that's disrespectful. That's how I feel about it."

Schneider said the Seahawks had been talking with the Texans about Brown since Seattle lost starting left tackle George Fant to a torn ACL in the preseason. Rees Odhiambo, a 2016 third-round pick, has struggled while replacing Fant, as has Seattle's offensive line as a whole this season.

The Seahawks previously met with free-agent left tackle Branden Albert, but nothing materialized.

The trade for Brown marks another bold move by Schneider, who had previously made deals for Marshawn Lynch in 2010, Percy Harvin in 2013 and Jimmy Graham in 2015.

Asked earlier Monday whether the Seahawks are hoping to make a trade before the deadline, coach Pete Carroll said: "You're either competing or you're not. You know John; he's out there trying to figure out what's going on. You never know."

Adding Brown will require some salary-cap maneuvering by Seattle.

Brown's contract with Houston includes a $9.4 million base salary for 2017, of which a little less than $5 million remains. The Seahawks had only about $1.4 million in cap space as of Monday, according to NFL Players Association records. So even with the remainder of Lane's $4 million base salary for 2017 coming off the books, the Seahawks will have to clear room in some way to absorb Brown's contract, unless they restructure it.

Seattle drafted Lane in the sixth round in 2012 and gave him a contract extension in March of 2016, after Lane came back from a broken wrist and torn ACL he suffered in Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots.

Lane began this season as the Seahawks' starting right cornerback but recently lost that job to rookie Shaquill Griffin. Lane returned Sunday after missing the past two games and most of a third with a groin injury. He began the game as Seattle's nickelback but was replaced in that role by Justin Coleman after hurting his thigh, Carroll said.

Lane tweeted a farewell to the Seahawks shortly after the trade news broke and appeared ready to move on to the next chapter of his NFL career.

"We'll miss him around here," Schneider said. "He did a great job for us. He overcame his injury and everything from the second Super Bowl, but he had to be part of the deal."

ESPN's Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.

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