The Seattle Seahawks and left tackle Duane Brown have agreed to a reworked final year of his deal that pays a $7 million signing bonus and $4 million in salary, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Adam Schefter.
Brown, who ended his first "hold-in" on Monday, was scheduled to make $10 million in base salary this season with another $1 million available in per-game roster bonuses. He doesn't receive any new money in 2021 with the adjustment, but he gets more money up front with much of his salary converted to a signing bonus.
Brown also received an injury protection benefit for 2022 and still can make up to $500,000 in incentives this season that are tied to playing time and the Pro Bowl, a source told Schefter. With another game check for the 17th game, Brown can make up to $12.1 million in 2021.
The Seahawks added a voidable year to his contract for salary-cap purposes, a source told Fowler. That reduces his 2021 cap number by $3.5 million. The 36-year-old Brown is still scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
Brown returned Monday to practice, after which coach Pete Carroll declared him "ready to go" and said he will play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. When asked if the team and Brown's agent were in discussions about any changes to his contract, Carroll hinted that an adjustment was part of the resolution, saying: "We're really ready to play football right now. That's where we are and everything that needed to be taken care of is taken care of and away we go."
Brown had been taking part in team meetings and walk-throughs but wasn't practicing in the absence of a new deal. He has been seeking a new contract for much of this offseason as he enters the final year of his three-year, $34.5 million extension. The $11.5 million average of that 2018 deal now ranks 16th among left tackles, per Spotrac.
"He's really healthy right now and I'm really thrilled about that for him," Carroll said Monday. "It was one of the things we realized about the process of it that we would not wear him down at all during camp. ... So he's got fresh legs coming in. He wants to play tight end. We probably won't get that chance, but he's asking."
Brown has made four Pro Bowls in 14 seasons, ranked second among tackles last season in ESPN's pass block win rate and has been the unquestioned leader of Seattle's offensive line. But he turned 36 last week, has dealt with knee issues in recent seasons and has had his workload in practice heavily managed. The Seahawks therefore did not want to extent him right now, believing that he's at the stage of his career in which it makes the most sense to take a year-to-year approach with his contract.