Pete Carroll and John Schneider have never been afraid to bring back former players, so it’s not a big surprise that they have reclaimed a couple of veterans from their Super Bowl-winning team.
Of course, it’s no guarantee that either Chris Clemons or newly reacquired Brandon Browner will make the team.
Clemons, 34, seems to have the better chance, offering some help in the pass rush and as an extra veteran voice for Frank Clark and other young linemen.
But Browner would seem to have an uphill battle to make the team.
Browner, 31, was a founding member of the Legion of Boom in 2011 — he and Kam Chancellor embodied the group’s nickname.
But Browner has always been a limited player in coverage. He constantly is toward the top of the NFL in penalties among defensive players — he has led the league in each of the past two seasons — because he plays a physical style that often draws flags and he does not have the speed to keep up with most receivers, which leads to more fouls.
If the Hawks are planning on Browner staying at corner, he will be battling Jeremy Lane, DeShawn Shead and a host of other promising young players (Mohammed Seisay, Tye Smith, Marcus Burley, Tharold Simon, et al.). Tough odds for Browner.
It is possible the team will look at moving him to safety to back up Kam Chancellor, although he would have to battle Kelcie McCray there.
Also recall that Browner is in the league’s drug protocol — he already has served two suspensions and is skating on thin ice with league disciplinarians. Another screw-up could cost him a year or more. That’s why the Seahawks gave him a one-year deal that surely is not for much more than the minimum and probably has playing bonuses attached if it is for more than the minimum.
Browner and Clemons are the latest one-time Hawks to return to the nest. Sealver Siliga, acquired in the John Moffitt trade in 2013, also came back this offseason. Siliga and Browner helped the Patriots beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX — and will face their former team in Week 10 next season.
They join other two-time Seahawks such as Michael Bennett (who preceded Carroll and Schneider before returning in 2013), Tarvaris Jackson (traded in 2012 and coming back in 2013) and Christine Michael (traded and re-signed last season).
If nothing else, Clemons and Browner might help bring back some of the brotherly bond that was missing last year. But neither figures prominently — if at all.