Texans LT Duane Brown stayed away from the team during voluntary OTAs, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports that the club does not expect anything to change when mandatory minicamp opens tomorrow. Wilson, citing league sources not authorized to speak publicly, says Brown will continue to express his desire for a new deal through his absence.
The 31-year-old Brown is under contract through 2018 and is scheduled to earn a non-guaranteed $9.65MM base salary this season and $9.75MM in 2018 (his 2017 salary ranks third among all left tackles, though his total cash places 11th). As our Zach Links wrote last month, Brown’s consistently strong performance could warrant having some of his future money guaranteed as a part of a contract extension, but the fact that he still has two years left on his current deal could mean that he won’t get far with his demands.
Brown, whom the Texans selected in the first round of the 2008 draft, has been a stalwart at the left tackle spot since his rookie campaign. He made the Pro Bowl in three consecutive years from 2012-14 (including a First Team All-Pro nod in 2012), and though he was not selected to the NFL’s All-Star game in the subsequent two seasons, he still played quite well.
He has also been pretty durable. He missed four games last season thanks to a torn quadriceps muscle, but he missed only four regular season games in total in the previous five seasons.
Brown can be subject to fines totaling $80,400 if he misses the entire minicamp, though it is unlikely the Texans would exercise that option against a valuable, long-tenured player like Brown.
