Former Seahawks All-Pro Duane Brown Arrested, Facing Gun Charge

Arrested for concealing a firearm, Brown's efforts to land with a team before the start of the 2022 season just become much more complicated.

Still searching for a new team with less than a month before training camps open across the NFL, a legal snafu may make landing a job much tougher for former Seahawks left tackle Duane Brown in the near future.

According to TMZ, Brown was taken out of the Los Angeles International Airport in handcuffs this weekend after allegedly trying to sneak through airport security with a gun in his luggage. Airport officials later confirmed the arrest to ABC News, indicating an unloaded firearm was found in one of his bags and he had been booked for possession of a concealed firearm.

Brown, who turns 37 in August, remains an unrestricted free agent after spending the past four and half seasons with the Seahawks. Originally acquired from the Texans prior to the trade deadline in 2017, he started 70 games, garnered Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2018, and received Pro Bowl recognition twice during that span. After "holding in" for a new contract last August, he started all 17 games last season.

Prior to joining the Seahawks, Brown spent his first nine seasons with the Texans after a stellar college career at Virginia Tech, earning three Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro selections, including a First-Team All-Pro honor in 2012.

Despite playing in his fifth Pro Bowl in February, Seattle drafted Brown's replacement at left tackle in April, using the No. 9 overall pick acquired from Denver in the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade on Mississippi State standout Charles Cross. The incoming rookie is expected to be a day one starter protecting the blind side, eliminating the possibility of the team re-signing Brown.

To this point, Brown hasn't received much interest on the free agent market, though he was linked to the Panthers earlier in the offseason and other teams were expected to make a play for him once camp opened. But after being arrested, those plans may need to be put on hold until he takes care of his legal situation.


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Corbin K. Smith
CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.