Texans left tackle Duane Brown stayed away from the team during voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp to express his displeasure over his current contract. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports, unsurprisingly, that Brown is expected to miss the start of training camp as well.
Brown is subject to fines of $40K for each day of camp that he holds out, though Wilson concedes that the 31-year-old has some leverage considering that Houston, which has championship aspirations this season but virtually no experience at the quarterback position, does not have an adequate replacement at left tackle. Nonetheless, there have been no negotiations between player and team, as Brown still has two years remaining on his current contract and the Texans do not renegotiate deals with two or more years remaining (Houston made exceptions to that rule for franchise icons Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt, but as good as Brown has been, he is not at that level).
Wilson adds, however, that Brown is not expected to miss any regular season games, so if the team does not give in, it sounds as if Brown will ultimately report. He ranks 11th among left tackles in cash compensation this year, as the six-year, $53.4MM deal he signed with Houston a few years ago has been surpassed by larger deals. He stands to earn $9.65MM in 2017.
In other Texans news, Wilson writes that the team and star wideout DeAndre Hopkins remain “highly motivated” to come to terms on a long-term deal, although negotiations have yet to pick up steam. However, there has been no “acrimony” on either side, and Hopkins is expected to report to camp on time, in contrast to his one-day holdout last year. Hopkins is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due to earn $7.9MM in 2017.