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Brady HendersonESPN
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll acknowledged that the team has interest in Antonio Brown, saying general manager John Schneider has been monitoring the All-Pro wide receiver’s “complex” situation.
Carroll went a step further when asked about the team’s interest in another suspended wide receiver, saying the Seahawks are “very open” to a reunion with Josh Gordon.
Last week, Brown was suspended eight games for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
“What I’d say to you is what we always say because it’s what we always do and who we are,” Carroll said when asked about the Seahawks’ rumored interest in Brown. “John is competing at every turn. There’s never been a process, unless we just missed it, that we weren’t involved with to understand what the chances were of helping our club. He’s all over it. He understands what’s going on right now, as much as you can. It’s a very complex situation. We just need to see where it fits somewhere down the road. That’s all I got for you.”
The 32-year-old Brown had been the subject of an NFL investigation following an accusation of sexual misconduct by an artist who was working at his home in 2017. He also pleaded no contest in June to a felony burglary with battery charge and two lesser misdemeanor charges stemming from a January incident with a moving truck driver.
A source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that Brown could be suspended for additional games following the conclusion of an ongoing NFL investigation into the allegation from Brown’s former trainer that he sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions in 2017 and 2018. Brown met with the NFL in November as part of that investigation and has said his sexual relationship with his former trainer was consensual.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson hosted Brown for a workout at his San Diego-area home in July. He has advocated behind the scenes for the team to sign Brown.
The 29-year-old Gordon was suspended indefinitely in December for violations of the league’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. He applied for reinstatement in mid-June with the hope that his indefinite suspension would be lifted in time to sign with a team and participate in training camp.
Gordon will be an unrestricted free agent if and when he is reinstated. Sources have told ESPN that he’s interested in a reunion with the Seahawks. Gordon caught seven passes for 139 yards in five games with the Seahawks, who claimed the one-time Pro Bowler when he was released off injured reserve by the New England Patriots in November.
“It’s not in our hands,” Carroll said. “Josh did a really good job with us last year. He fit in really well. He was part of this team by the way we opened and embraced his coming to us but also by the way he adapted. So we are very open to that thought, and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen on that.”
The Seahawks signed Phillip Dorsett to compete with David Moore to be the team’s No. 3 wide receiver behind Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Seattle’s depth chart at the position also includes 2019 seventh-round pick John Ursua and 2020 sixth-rounder Freddie Swain.