The Seattle Seahawks are reuniting the original Legion of Boom.
The Seahawks announced Sunday they’ve signed free-agent cornerback Brandon Browner to a one-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Browner had been released by the New Orleans Saints in March.
Browner, 31, played for the Seahawks from 2011-13, starting all 36 games he appeared in and intercepting 10 passes. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2011 after a season in which he intercepted six passes and returned two for touchdowns, including a team record 94 yarder.
But perhaps more significantly, Browner was in some ways the player who defined Seattle’s Legion of Boom secondary. Browner, who was signed by Seattle out of the Canadian Football League, was a revolutionary player. At 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds he was the first cornerback who had the size to match up with the NFL’s increasingly bigger receivers.
Browner was soon joined in the starting lineup by the 6-foot-3 Richard Sherman, giving Seattle unprecedented size at cornerback. Along with physical safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, the Legion of Boom became the most-feared secondary in the NFL.
However, Browner’s time with the Seahawks was not without controversy. On the field Browner became notorious for drawing penalties. During his three seasons in Seattle Browner was flagged 33 times, with 24 of those being for pass interference, defensive holding or illegal contact.
Off the field Browner was suspended by the NFL twice for drug-related incidents. He was given a four-game suspension in 2012 for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Then in 2013 he was suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. The second suspension was eventually reduced, but it still caused Browner to miss Seattle’s 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVII.
Browner left the Seahawks as a free agent following the 2013 season, signing with the New England Patriots, with whom he helped defeat Seattle 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX.
When New England declined to pick up Browner’s roster bonus following the 2014 season, he signed with New Orleans. He started every game for the Saints last season, making one interception as he fought through a knee injury. Unfortunately, the penalty issues that plagued Browner in Seattle continued to be an issue with the Saints as he was flagged 24 times last season, which was the most by a player since the individual penalties began being tracked in 1999. He was released by New Orleans, despite the Saints having to absorb $5.35 million in dead money against the salary cap over the next two seasons.
Browner played collegiately at Oregon State and went undrafted in 2005. After spending the 2005 season on injured reserve with the Denver, he went on to have a celebrated career in the CFL, being named an All-Star each season from 2008-10 before finally getting his shot in the NFL with the Seahawks.
Browner’s return was greeted warmly by Seahawks player on social media, with the likes of Sherman, linebacker Bobby Wagner and receiver Doug Baldwin welcoming Browner back on Twitter. He is the second member of the 2013 Super Bowl-winning defense to return to the Seahawks following a hiatus, joining defensive end Chris Clemons who signed earlier this month.
It is unclear how the Seahawks intend to use Browner. Seattle deployed a combination of Jeremy Lane and DeShawn Shead at right cornerback opposite Sherman late last season following Cary Williams’ release. Both Lane and Shead performed well, and both were re-signed by Seattle earlier this offseason — Lane signed a four-year, $23 million contract as an unrestricted free agent, while Shead signed an exclusive rights free agent tender.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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