Pete Carroll, ever a nonsensical and whimsical speaker, pulled off a sneaky double entendre Sunday that made it seem like the Seahawks were entertaining an extension for Duane Brown.

But it turns out, there have been no such talks, per The Seattle Times. So now the question is: Are the Hawks just waiting to get Jamal Adams’ deal done or are they simply not interested in paying a 36-year-old Pro Bowl left tackle?

On Sunday, Carroll told NFL Network, “Duane is a really important player to us on the offensive side of the ball, and we know how to work with him and make sure he’s ready to play. He’s making a (contract) statement right now, and we’re working with him. He’s going through the walkthroughs and all, so we know he’ll be ready to play. He would not be practicing a lot at this time, so we’ll try to work our way through it, make sure we put this thing together.”

The “we’re working with him” and “make sure we put this thing together” comments sure sounded like the team was talking contract, but Carroll apparently was talking only about Brown’s readiness to play and the line in general.

He told reporters on Tuesday: “Nothing new is happening with that at this point.” And The Times reported no negotiations have taken place.

Russell Wilson reportedly has offered to redo his contract to help with new deals for Brown and Adams, but cap space is not the issue. New deals typically free up cap space in the current year anyway, so Wilson’s offer (whether he knows it or not) is more symbolic than practical.

(UPDATED) Per The Times, Adams and the Hawks apparently are at an impasse over structure and guarantees. Seattle has offered $17.5 million a year for four years, with $38 million guaranteed. Adams apparently wants $40 million guaranteed, with more of it paid in the first three years.

Seattle uses the same structure on every contract, including those of superstars Wilson and Bobby Wagner: First year fully guaranteed, next couple of years injury guaranteed until the new league year begins, when they become fully guaranteed. It seems like this deal should get done by the opener.

The status of Brown and Adams is the top story of camp. Wilson’s development in Shane Waldron’s offense is a close second, but other issues (the corner battle, D’Wayne Eskridge’s health, Darrell Taylor’s development) are a very distant third, fourth, fifth at this point.

We suspect both Adams and Brown will be on the field for the opener in Indy – whether they have new deals or not. If he does not re-sign with Seattle, Adams will need to prove to another team that he is worth what he wants.  

As we previously mentioned, Adams’ absence would be less of a problem than Brown’s since the Hawks are pretty deep at safety. They aren’t quite as secure at left tackle, which is why they need to make sure Brown is playing Sept. 12.

There’s still a month to go, so there’s time to make it happen.