Brandon Browner is an original member of the Legion of Boom. Along with Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor, Browner was a member of the most-feared secondary in the NFL during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. (He joined the team in 2011, and even though that year was probably his best season with the team, Seattle didn't break out as arguably the NFL's best defense until 2012.) Though he struggled to some extent with penalties, Browner was a positive force during his time in Seattle.
After a Super Bowl season in 2013, Browner left the team for the New England Patriots. He won a Super Bowl there, too, against his former team. The Pats moved on from him after just one season, and he spent 2015 with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints did not win the Super Bowl. They were among the worst defenses in NFL history, and Browner was a big part of that. During those two seasons away from Seattle, his penalty issues became even more exacerbated, and his coverage skills declined. He was not nearly the impactful player he was when playing with his former LOB-mates.
The Saints cut him earlier this offseason, owing to his oversized salary. He's back with the Seahawks now. Head coach Pete Carroll went on the radio Tuesday morning and said he envisions a new role for Browner in this go-round with the team.
“We’re going to play him at safety in base downs and then in nickel we are going to use him to match up at different spots playing inside,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN Seattle. “So we may be able to develop a really unique role for him. We have seen him play, back to his New England days they used him quite a bit inside and he really matched up on tight ends and slot receivers and things like that that he matched up well, and we are going to see how that develops.”
With the Patriots, Bill Belichick occasionally used Browner to bracket No. 1 receivers with safety Devin McCourty, but he also would use him to cover certain tight ends one-on-one. The Seahawks struggled badly with tight ends last season, particularly on seam routes. Greg Olsen and Tyler Eifert practically lived up the seam against Seattle, each catching huge passes to aid comeback victories over the Seahawks on that route.
Browner no longer has the quickness or foot speed to deal with some of the shorter, quicker outside receivers teams are using these days. It's possible that his size and physicality make him a better matchup for bigger-bodied tight ends. Moving him off the line of scrimmage will also presumably make him less likely to engage in the constant holding and pass interference that has plagued him the last two years.
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