RENTON -- If Duane Brown's Friday night tweeting disrupted your sleeping routine he would like to apologize.
Brown's simple tweet of a set of googly-eyes sent the Seahawks fandom into a frenzy about the possibility the team would be trading for defensive end Jadeveon Clowney from the Houston Texans.
"I was a little premature. I didn't think as many people would look into it as they did but man was I wrong," Brown said with a huge grin. "I think I caused a lot of people to lose some sleep that night and I'm sorry for that, but it worked out. I decided to have a little fun and everyone, everyone was trying to see what was going on. People started calling my phone at like four in the morning. I didn't give them anything but yeah, that was a good time."
The Seahawks acquired Clowney - Brown's former teammate in Houston - the following day as the team found a major contributor to help bolster their questionable pass rush just a week before the start of the season. Brown said he'd been talking with Clowney over the previous several weeks as his holdout from the Texans continued. It was only more recently that Clowney began to inquire about Seattle.
"I had just been keeping in touch with himself throughout the offseason because I'd been in a similar situation with my contract dispute and just checking in with him, making sure his head was good and he was in good spirits and working hard without any knowledge that this could even take place," Brown said.
"I just told the truth. I just told him how I felt here, my experience here about the culture, about the staff, about the team, the locker room. From there he just said 'man, that sounds like somewhere I would love to be.' And I was like 'you would love it.' From there things just started to progress and I just gave people my input on just my experience with Clowney."
Clowney will have a week and four total practices to try and absorb a new defensive scheme after not playing any football since the end of last season. Seahawks defensive line coach Clint Hurtt said it's really player dependent as to how much a player can learn in just a single week of practice.
"It's all really based on the player and what feels comfortable to them that way they're not out there thinking," defensive line coach Clint Hurtt said when asked how much can a player absorb in just a week of practice. "The last thing you want is... they may learn the entire system and know what's going on and be able to draw it on a grease board or be able to draw it on a piece of paper, but how fast when they get in between the white lines when the things are flying can they respond and react and still execute calls correctly."
Ziggy Ansah only returned to practice last week as well after spending all of the offseason limited to walkthroughs and rehab after shoulder surgery. While Clowney and Ansah have shown the type of production they're capable of with the Detroit Lions and Texans, respectively, they won't have much field time under their belts with the Seahawks before playing in a game that counts this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
In the end, that's a problem Hurtt is welcome to have.
"Thank you, Pete. Thank you, John," Hurtt said of the additions of Clowney and Ansah. "It's definitely a welcome addition to get that. But also at the same time, there's a lot of work to get done. As talented as they are and as proven as they've been so far early in their careers, there's a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time. That's the hurdle to clear, but I'll deal with that problem anytime."
Brown is well aware of what Clowney brings to the table having lined up across from him for three-plus seasons on the practice fields in Houston.
"The narrative I think that a lot of people created for him throughout his career, I think, is false and not fair to him," Brown said. "Extremely hard worker, a fun guy to be around, wants to win and those are the factors that really stand out about him. It played out perfectly. We were able to get him and I'm pretty excited about it.
"He’s been working a lot on his moves and his craft over the years. I haven’t played against him or practiced against him in a couple years, but I’m excited to see what it’s going to be like. This is a great competitor, he’s a game changer. I think he brings a lot of attention in ways that you have to scheme for him. I think he can definitely help us a lot.”
The prospect of having Clowney and Ansah together excites Brown that much more.
“It’s scary, man, it’s scary,’’ Brown said. “I think it just got real. It just got real for other offenses and I’m looking forward to it.’’
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Photo Credit: GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 30: Offensive lineman Duane Brown #76 of the Seattle Seahawks during an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)