Seahawks extend contract for Duane Brown. And up next is…

The Seahawks extended the contract for one of their key players today. Could there be more extensions coming for other top players?

A key figure for the Seahawks got the contract extension he wanted today. Sorry folks, it wasn’t Earl Thomas. If that had been the case, we’d have included fireworks in the headline, somehow. But signing Duane Brown to a three year deal isn’t exactly a small matter, either. Just how important is his deal, and does it have any bearing on the future of some other key figures for Seattle? Thought you’d never ask!

For the record, Brown got a three year extension worth as much as $36.5 million. It should be obvious, but signing Duane Brown is a very big deal in more than one way. First, he’s your left tackle, arguably the most important piece of the puzzle that makes an offensive line. You could certainly argue the center is the prime position, as they typically call the protection schemes.

But the guy who has the greatest personal responsibility for not letting the quarterback get murdered is the left tackle. Don’t believe me? Who’s typically listed as the greatest Seahawks player ever? That’s right, Hall of Fame left tackle Walter Jones. So keeping an excellent left tackle happy is a big deal indeed.

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Seahawks had to commit to the offensive line

Not only that, but Brown was easily the Seahawks best offensive lineman last season. Keeping your best offensive lineman happy keeps your quarterback happy, too. As for this season, Pete Carroll has had great things to say about Brown. As reported by ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Carroll said:

"Duane made an immediate impression on us when he got here. This is a real leader, he’s a real man in that huddle and in the locker room, and we’re very, very fortunate to have him. He’s a great worker, he’s really, really an astute ballplayer, he’s got a great voice and perspective that’s gonna help other guys…We just love having him on our team."

So Duane Brown got his. I think it’s much more likely that Frank Clark  will see an extension offered to him before Earl Thomas. For one thing, Clark is four years younger than the All Pro safety. And right now, with the health of Dion Jordan up in the air, Clark is actually more critical to the Seahawks than Thomas. I’m not saying he’s better, or that his position is more important. But Seattle doesn’t have one other defensive end with an NFL start on the roster.

K. J. Wright should be high on the list, too. He doesn’t have the quite the talent level of Earl Thomas – I mean, who does – but he’s been a model of consistent excellence for the Seahawks defense. Whether he’ll get the extension or not depends on a lot of factors, not the least of which is how many wheelbarrows of cash Seattle will have to bring to Russell Wilson’s house.

Earl Thomas probably won’t be too thrilled to see the Seahawks gave Duane Brown a three year deal. Brown, who’s played all of nine games for Seattle. I’m sure Thomas feels he has more skin in the game than that. And in one sense, he’s right. On the other hand, Brown wanted an extension just as much. He held out for the first six games of last season for the Houston Texans, after all. Hopefully, we don’t see the same end to the Thomas situation as Houston saw with Brown.