Seattle Seahawks make bold move to upgrade O-line

Next Chapter!!!! 12's What Up!!!!! pic.twitter.com/1FrsSYCrEN

- Duane Brown (@DuaneBrown76) October 31, 2017

RENTON, Wash. -- With the trade deadline looming on Tuesday, the Seattle Seahawks made a big move to upgrade their offensive line.

The Seahawks reached an agreement with the Houston Texans to acquire three-time Pro-Bowl left tackle Duane Brown in exchange for cornerback Jeremy Lane.

A 2018 fifth-round pick and 2019 second-round pick are also reported to be included in the deal that brings Brown to Seattle.

General manager John Schneider confirmed the deal has been agreed upon, but has not yet been finalized. The deal is contingent upon physicals being passed and other administrative actions that need to be completed.

"We reached an agreement with the Texans today to acquire Duane Brown," Schneider said. "He's a heck of a player, been a heck of a player for a long time.

"We're just very excited about it. He's been a leader for them. He's been the captain of their offense for a number of years."

The deal solves the biggest problem spot for Seattle on the offensive line. Schneider said he's been in discussions with Houston about Brown ever since Seattle's starting left tackle, George Fant, was lost for the season to a torn ACL in mid-August.

Rees Odhiambo replaced Fant and started the first seven games of the season at left tackle for the Seahawks. However, it was clear he was too often physically outmatched.

That was especially true on Sunday as Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney tossed him around in the running game.

"We just got beat to the punch at the line of scrimmage," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We really thought we would run the ball better. The plan that we had, they played above it.

"I thought that (Clowney) played great football and we thought we'd be able to run the ball some and he was really a big factor in causing problems in the backfield."

The Seahawks need to do more in order to make the space for Brown to be added to the roster. Seattle had just over $1.4 million in salary-cap space on Monday, according to NFLPA records. Brown was set to earn $4.97 million the rest of the season for the Texans. Lane was set to earn $2.12 million the rest of the season with the Seahawks.

Even in taking Lane off Seattle's roster, that would leave them with only $3.56 million in salary-cap space, which isn't enough to absorb the remaining amount of Brown's deal.

The Seahawks could create the remaining space needed by restructuring Brown's current contract, giving him a new contract and/or doing the same for other players already under contract with the Seahawks.

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

That would seem to indicate that Schneider has the intention of signing Brown to an extension. He is under contract only though the 2018 season. An extension could create the space the Seahawks need to get Brown on the roster and sufficiently manage their cap space.

Brown was holding out in hopes of leveraging a new contract with Houston. Instead, he missed the first seven weeks of the season before reporting to the team last week. Brown made his season debut against the Seahawks on Sunday.

"We're really excited to get him up here, get him back up here," Schneider said. "He could have just stayed overnight, I guess, but we're just really excited to add the player and his leadership.

"Power. Physicality. He's got great hands, really good instincts. He's just a mountain of a man."

--The Seahawks' rushing attack continues to be non-existent.

Seattle running backs managed just 5 yards on 16 carries against the Texans on Sunday. In total, the Seahawks finished with 33 rushing yards for the game. Quarterback Russell Wilson had 30 of those yards on scrambles.

"The first thing we have to do is we have to clean up the leaky activity on the line of scrimmage," head coach Pete Carroll said. "We got knocked in the backfield yesterday. You have no running game if that kind of leakage is happening. So that's being right technically, it's also being right assignment-wise.

"It's very much the same as it is in the passing game. For whatever reason, we're more ahead in pass protection than we were in the run game. And then we haven't turned that into being physical too, being physical at the line of scrimmage. We need to do better. We got knocked around yesterday."

J.D. McKissic led Seattle's running back with 6 yards on four carries. Eddie Lacy gained zero yards on six carries. Thomas Rawls was responsible for minus-1 yard on six carries.

While center Justin Britt was not at 100 percent due to an ankle sprain, Seattle's offensive line could not create any space for the backs to work.

Right tackle Germain Ifedi and tight end Luke Willson both said they believed the running game was close to getting things on track despite the struggles against the Texans.

Seattle's line has improved significantly in pass protection since the start of the season and it's leaps and bounds better than the group that played last season. However, the running game just hasn't followed suit.

"It's nasty, it's hard," Ifredi said. "It's straining but we have to do it and we can't become a team that relies too much on, 'Hey, we're going to throw it around.'

"We know we want to run the ball. We want our hand in the dirt and come off the ball, so we have to keep coming with it. As a line, we have to be better. We have to be more detailed. We have to have more finish. We're not far but, as a unit, all five guys have to start doing their job on a more consistent level. You can't really sugar-coat it at this point. We just have to get better."

The loss of running back Chris Carson for most, if not all, of the season to a fractured leg and severe high-ankle sprain set the group back. Guard Luke Joeckel missing at least a month after knee surgery didn't help either.

The Seahawks have been held under 100 yards rushing in four of their seven games.

The addition of Duane Brown on Monday night could be the solution that allows the line to take a leap forward for the rest of the season.

--The Seahawks have allowed a 400-yard passer just four times in Pete Carroll's eight seasons as head coach.

In an era defined by a dominant defense in Seattle, prolific passing days have been few and far between.

They've also been fruitless.

Deshaun Watson passed for 402 yards and four touchdowns in a losing effort for the Houston Texans on Sunday. It's the same fate suffered by the other three quarterbacks to throw for over 400 yards against a Carroll-led Seahawks defense. Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Watson have all thrown for 400-plus against Seattle. All four teams left the stadium with losses.

"Got to run it to beat us, I guess, huh?" Carroll quipped on Monday.

Rivers passed for 455 yards and two touchdowns against Seattle for the San Diego Chargers in 2010. However, two interceptions and two Leon Washington kickoff return touchdowns helped the Seahawks earn a 27-20 victory.

Manning threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns for the New York Giants in 2011. He was also intercepted three times, including a pick-six by Brandon Browner in the closing minutes to give Seattle a 36-25 victory.

Roethlisberger passed for 456 yards -- an opponent passing record for the Seahawks -- with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015, but an 80-yard Doug Baldwin touchdown sealed a 39-30 victory with two minutes remaining.

"Generally, that would come from games where they can't run the football or we're way ahead and they're catching up," Carroll said. "Sometimes, it's significant. I think in this game, when it's a tight game, it was a little different than some of those other ones."

NOTES: RB C.J. Prosise is expected to return to practice this week. He's still dealing with the after-effects of a high-ankle sprain and has played just two snaps in the last four games. ... S Earl Thomas has a strained hamstring he sustained chasing down DeAndre Hopkins' 72-yard touchdown. Carroll called it a "lower-level" strain, but said they wouldn't know if he can play against Washington until the end of the week. ... C Justin Britt was not 100 percent in Sunday's game due to a sprained ankle that forced him to miss two days of practice. Carroll said he didn't have his full strength available due to the injury. ... CB Jeremy Lane has a thigh bruise and played just six snaps for Seattle on Sunday. He was traded to Houston in exchange for LT Duane Brown on Monday. ... LG Luke Joeckel is "maybe five weeks or something like that" away from returning for the Seahawks after knee surgery during the team's bye week, according to Carroll. He's missed Seattle's last two games. ... DE Dion Jordan will practice with the team this week as he remains on the non-football injury list. Carroll said next week's game against Arizona is a possible opportunity for Jordan to return to the lineup.

REPORT CARD VS. TEXANS

--PASSING OFFENSE: A -- Russell Wilson was superb in passing for a franchise-record 452 yards with four touchdowns. An interception late seemed to doom Seattle's chances before Wilson authored a final touchdown drive in the closing seconds to give Seattle the victory. Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett each went over 100 yards receiving.

--RUSHING OFFENSE: F -- Seattle's running backs combined to gain 5 yards on 16 carries against Houston. The Seahawks were on their way to setting a franchise record for fewest rushing yards in a game before Russell Wilson scrambled in the fourth quarter and pushed their rushing total to 33 yards for the game.

--PASS DEFENSE: D-plus -- It's not often the Legion of Boom gets gashed the way they did on Sunday. The Texans gained 402 yards through the air as Deshaun Watson took large chunks of real estate outside of Seattle's defense. The five sacks and three interceptions helped the group salvage just enough in the end to get the win.

--RUSH DEFENSE: B -- The Texans had been the best rushing offense in the league since Deshaun Watson took over as quarterback. Seattle held their running backs to less than 3 yards per carry. Most of the damage came from Watson on scrambles as he gained 67 yards on eight carries.

--SPECIAL TEAMS: B-minus -- Blair Walsh converted all of his kicks. Tanner McEvoy forced a fumble on a kickoff return. Jon Ryan didn't have a punt blocked despite heavy pressure from Houston.

--COACHING: B-minus -- Seattle's passing attack sliced through the Texans' defense all day Sunday. Russell Wilson was well protected and took advantage of matchup advantages in Houston's secondary. The lack of any ability to run the football remains a significant concern. The defense struggled to find a way to slow Deshaun Watson but came through with enough pressure and turnovers to escape with a win.