Tag: Evan Brown

Seahawks to meet with free agent C Connor Williams

Seahawks to meet with free agent C Connor Williams

The Seattle Seahawks are always in the market to improve their offensive line, and perhaps more help is coming there way. Late Monday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks are going to host former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins center Connor Williams on Tuesday, as he is currently a free agent.

Tuesday, July 23rd is the official start of training camp in Seattle.

Williams was originally a second round pick by the Dallas Cowboys during the 2018 NFL draft. He spent the first four years of his career in Big D, before signing a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins. In Miami, Williams switched from being a left guard to center, where he was the starter for both seasons with the Dolphins.

Now, Williams, age 27, heads to the Pacific Northwest to see if the Emerald City is his next NFL home. Williams unfortuantely tore his ACL in Week 14 last season and ended the year on injured reserve. His injury has undoutebly impacted negotiations with the Dolphins, and with a return seemingly unlikely, he is seeking a potential fresh start elsewhere.

In June, Schefter reported Williams expects to be ready for the start of the season, despite such a devastating injury. Should the Seahawks come to terms with Williams, he will be thrust into one of the more intriguing position battles on the team.

As it stands, the starting center position seems up for grabs between second year pro Olu Oluwatimi and former Cleveland Browns lineman Nick Harris. With Williams in the mix, who has started 77 out of 83 total NFL games, it will give Seattle unprecedented depth at one of the most critical positions along the offensive line.

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Cardinals OL Evan Brown might have the edge, but he’s one of many competing at left guard

Brown talks about fitting in and competing on a new team.

During the 2023 season, the Arizona Cardinals had a high level of stability on the offensive line.

Right tackle Paris Johnson Jr., right guard Will Hernandez and center Hjalte Froholdt started all 17 games, while left tackle D.J. Humphries started 15. With Humphries released because of a torn ACL suffered in Week 17, Johnson is moving to the left side with free-agent addition Jonah Williams manning right tackle.

That leaves left guard as the only question mark. Last season, Elijah Wilkinson opened the season there, although he did share some snaps early on with Trystan Colon. When Wilkinson was injured in Week 6, Colon started the next two games before he was injured.

Carter O’Donnell started three games and Wilkinson returned for the final three games to give him nine starts for the season.

All four are back on one-year contracts, but also added in the offseason was Evan Brown, who also signed a one-year deal. Brown entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Giants in 2018 and in the last three seasons (two with the Lions and 2023 with the Seahawks), he played 46 games with 40 starts.

Those starts included 16 at center with Seattle last season, to go with 12 at center in Detroit in 2021 and 12 at right guard in 2022.

During offseason work, Brown worked mostly at left guard and is definitely in the mix to potentially start.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Brown, “His football character is awesome. He’s a guy that loves to practice, loves to train. He’s extremely intelligent and he’s a powerful cat. He can apply force into the ground and into his opponent, so that’s been cool to see.”

Brown isn’t taking anything for granted and just loves the competition that might include Marquis Hayes, who was on the practice squad all last season, Jon Gaines II, who missed his entre rookie season because of a knee injury, and Isaiah Adams, a third-round pick this year. It appears some good players will have a difficult time making the team much less start.

As Brown said late in OTAs, “We’ve got a lot of guys who have played a lot of ball and I think that brings competition to the room. No matter what the position is, competition is going to bring out the best of everybody and that’s all you want as a team.

“You want the best 11 out there functioning as a unit and when everybody’s pushing themselves to get a little bit better every day due to competition, it’s only going to bring out the best in the team.”

Part of that is also building unit togetherness on and off the field.

“It’s spending time when you’re in the building together and offensive line-wise, we’re always together,” Brown said. “We’re spending time together outside the building, whether it’s dinners, hanging out, playing games, whatever it may be. It’s just building that camaraderie between the group. You have to do that.

“Anytime you’ve got new guys who haven’t really worked together or don’t really know each other, I think the best way to build up that relationship is spending time off the field to improve the play on the field.”

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Evan Brown getting looks at left guard in OTAs

It appears, at least early on, that Evan Brown was signed to be the starter at left guard and not to compete for the starting center job.

The Arizona Cardinals have one question mark with their starting offensive line. Four of the five positions seem set with Paris Johnson getting moved to left tackle, Hjalte Froholdt and Will Hernandez returning to man enter and right guard, and new addition Jonah Williams will handle right tackle.

Left guard is up for grabs. Four different players — Elijah Wilkinson, Dennis Daley, Trystan Colon and Carter O’Donnell — started at least a game there last season.

All are back on the roster in 2024.

However, at least early on, it appears a newcomer is in line to start. That would be Evan Brown, formerly of the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks.

As you can see in this screenshot of a video from the Cardinals’ YouTube page, it is Brown (No. 62) lining up at left guard next to Johnson (No. 70).

Last season, he was the Seahawks’ starting center. The previous two seasons he started at center and right guard for Detroit.

It is one rep of OTAs, but this is clearly a rep with the first team and Brown is there. This doesn’t mean he will start at left guaBut trd, as there are still months to go till the regular season. But this is also part of the offseason when coaches try to build continuity on the offensive line, so if Brown is getting first-team reps at left guard, we can know that, at least for now, he is the guy they plan on starting.

We will get a better picture in training camp when practices are open to the public and we can see how often he is with the first team.

At minimum, this is something to watch. Brown doesn’t appear have been brought in to compete for the starting center job to replace Froholdt. He appears to have been signed to start at guard.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Complete contract details, salary cap breakdown for OL Evan Brown

Brown got a one-year, $2.35 million contract to sign with the Cardinals this offseason.

As the Arizona Cardinals enter draft mode, solidifying depth on the offensive line was a goal after the league year began on March 13.

One player they added to accomplish that was Evan Brown. Cards Wire obtained the details of his one-year contract.

He signed a one-year contract worth $2.35 million with $1.1 million guaranteed and includes a $650,000 signing bonus. Of his $1.445 million salary in 2024, $450,000 is guaranteed.

Also in the deal are $15,000 per-game roster bonuses with a potential total of $255,000. His salary-cap charge is $2.335 million.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Brown entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Giants in 2018. During his first two seasons, Brown played only 11 games while spending time with the Giants, Dolphins, Browns and Lions.

He became a starter in Detroit in 2021 and over the next three seasons played 46 games with 40 starts. His snap count went from 73 percent in 2021, to 83 percent with the Lions in 2022 and 97 percent last season in Seattle.

Brown is one of two new linemen the Cardinals added in free agency, the other being Jonah Williams, who is expected to start at either right or left tackle. They also re-signed four other linemen. Back from 2023 are Elijah Wilkinson, Trystan Colon, Keith Ismael and Carter O’Donnell.

Wilkinson started 10 games at left guard while Colon started four. Williams started 17 games for the Bengals in 2023, while Brown started 16 for the Seahawks.

There are currently 13 linemen on the roster, including center-guard Jon Gaines II, who spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve, along with Marquis Hayes and Austen Pleasants, who were on the practice squad last season.

The others are Kelvin Beachum, Dennis Daley, Hjalte Froholdt, Will Hernandez and Paris Johnson Jr. The latter three started all 17 games in 2023.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals signing former Lions, Seahawks OL Evan Brown

Brown has started 40 games at guard and center over the last three seasons for the Seahawks and Lions.

The Arizona Cardinals are adding a starting-caliber player to the offensive line. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Cardinals are signing offensive lineman Evan Brown to a one-year contract.

The deal is for $2.35 million and worth as much as $2.9 million.

Brown played and started 16 games at center for the Seattle Seahawks last season. The previous two seasons, he started 12 games each at guard and center for the Detroit Lions.

He entered the league as a rookie free agent in 2018, signing with the New York Giants after playing collegiately at SMU.

He is 27 years old, 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds.

He has spent time with the Giants, Browns, Dolphins, Lions and Seahawks.

He will presumably compete for the starting center job with Hjalte Froholdt, who started every game at center last season, or at left guard, where the starting job is up for grabs. Last season, four players started there — Elijah Wilkinson started nine times, Tyrstan Colon started four, Carter O’Donnell started three and Dennis Daley started one.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

1 pending free agent the Colts could target from each NFC team

Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each NFC team.

With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.

Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.

We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.

Here’s a look at one pending free agent from each NFC team that should interest the Colts:

13 pending offensive free agents with ties to the Panthers’ coaching staff

Mike Evans, who is set to hit the open market, had his best season in years under new Panthers HC Dave Canales.

With new head coach Dave Canales leading the transition, the Carolina Panthers have completely overhauled their offensive staff this winter. And with new faces comes new connections for the organization.

Here are 13 pending offensive free agents, in areas of particular need, with ties to Canales’ staff:

4 under the radar free agents that fit the Lions well

Four free agents who fit the Lions needs, playing style and budget for the positions they play

The free agent period begins soon in the NFL. While it officially doesn’t fire up until mid-March, the NFL Scouting Combine typically marks when teams and agents really begin earnestly courting one another in free agency, too.

The Detroit Lions figure to be net spenders in free agency once again. That’s as much of a function of not being scheduled to lose any critical or high-priced free agents of their own, but also banking on GM Brad Holmes being a man of his word on adding more talent to the Lions.

In his year-ending press conference, Holmes talked about being smart in free agency. Being prudent in finding value in free agency will be an emphasis, and that means finding players who fit the Lions well but might not necessarily carry the league-wide demand or big-name appeal to drive the price tag up.

Holmes and the Lions have done a good job finding players like this, including OL Graham Glasgow (now a free agent himself), WR Kalif Raymond, RB David Montgomery, DL John Cominsky, LB Alex Anzalone and more.

Here are four names who could fit that value bill for the Lions and Holmes in the upcoming free agent period in 2024.

Seahawks injury updates: Ken Walker, Abe Lucas, Evan Brown

The Seahawks lost a critical game to the Steelers on Sunday, and along the way they suffered several injuries.

The Seahawks lost a critical game to the Steelers on Sunday, and along the way they suffered several injuries.

After the game was over, head coach Pete Carroll gave the media a few updates on injured players.

RB Ken Walker

Walker entered this game as questionable with a shoulder injury. He balled out during his time on the field, averaging over five yards per carry and scoring Seattle’s first touchdown. However, he later had to leave the game. Carroll says he re-aggravated his shoulder issue.

RT Abe Lucas

The biggest injury came when right tackle Abe Lucas went down with a knee injury and had to be replaced by Stone Forsythe. Carroll says that Lucas did not aggravate the knee issue that put him on injured reserve for a couple months earlier this season.

C Evan Brown

Seattles offensive line took another hit a short time later when starting center Evan Brown had to leave the field due to a concussion. He was quickly ruled out. Carroll would only say that Brown got hit in the head and needed a break.

Wide receiver Tyler Lockett and cornerback Artie Burns were also dinged up at different points in the game but were not ruled out.

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Seahawks Week 8 injury report: 9 players full participants in practice

Seahawks Week 8 injury report: 9 players full participants in practice

As is the running theme this season, injuries have been a consistent concern for the Seattle Seahawks. Wednesday practice injury reports have been particularly brutal, and yesterday’s was no exception. A total of eight players did not participate at all.

Fortunately, they tend to get better as the week progresses, and this was the case for Thursday’s practice. On Thursday, the did not participate list was cut in half, and a grand total of nine players were full participants.

Below is the full injury report: