Word on Monday was that Texans left tackle Duane Brown would not be joining the team for this week’s mandatory minicamp and it was proven correct when the session opened Tuesday without Brown in attendance.
Brown is reportedly unhappy with his contract, which runs through 2018 with non-guaranteed base salaries of $9.65 million in 2017 and $9.75 million next year. Coach Bill O’Brien didn’t say if that was the case, if the Texans were amenable to discussing alterations to the deal or anything of great substance about Brown’s absence.
“I don’t have much to say on that. Obviously, Duane knows how I feel about him,” O’Brien said, via ESPN.com. “We’d love to have him here, but at the end of the day, the guys who are here, that’s who we’re coaching.”
The Texans can fine Brown a total of $80,405 if he skips all three days of minicamp and the tackle would be at risk of incurring more fines if he extends his absence into training camp. They’d also be without both of their starting tackles from last year -- right tackle Derek Newton is recovering from two torn patellar tendons -- if that’s the case and Brown likely knows that’s the best leverage he has to push for something more on the contract front.