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The Texans’ starting left tackle, Duane Brown, has previously skipped out on OTAs and mandatory mini-camp, so the question was whether he intended to continue that holdout into training camp. With the Texans scheduled to leave Houston for their training camp base in West Virginia today, Brown will apparently not be on the plane joining them.
Texans haven’t left Houston just yet for West Virginia, but LT Duane Brown is not in attendance as the team prepares to leave.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) July 25, 2017
Duane Brown skipped the #Texans offseason program and his absence today was expected. He has 2 years left on his current contract.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) July 25, 2017
Duane Brown has 2 years left on his contract. Texans don't usually redo deals until 1 year is left. I expect him back for regular season.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) July 25, 2017
Brown’s holdout is not a good sign for an offensive line that’s in the middle of an overhaul with multiple new pieces coming into place. Not to mention the tackle position in particular, where Brown has been a stalwart since being drafted by the team in 2008, has been particularly shaky. The cost to Brown for each day of the holdout is not going to be cheap, either.
Duane Brown fined $80,405 for skipping minicamp. So far, losing total of $330,405 in contract dispute; $40,000 daily fines for camp holdout
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) July 25, 2017
Brown could also feel the sting in his base salary when he finally does report:
Source: by skipping offseason workouts, Texans OT Duane Brown has triggered a de-escalator clause, dropping his salary from $9.65M to $9.4M.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 25, 2017
The Texans are heading into a season with the contracts of DeAndre Hopkins and possibly Jadeveon Clowney still in need of resolution The team has typically not addressed holdouts like this with the reward of a contract. We saw this most recently last season with DeAndre Hopkins, who ended his holdout after one day. Heading into training camp, this is probably the last thing the Texans want to deal with.
What do you think of the news? Will Rick Smith cave and pay Brown, or will Brown return to camp without a new contract? Stay with BRB for the the latest updates.
UPDATE: Rick Smith says Brown isn’t holding out. That is a novel strategy.