Notebook: Brown likely to be let go

KIRKLAND — Seahawks president Tim Ruskell made three things as clear as the sky yesterday with regard to roster moves.

No. 1, veteran linebacker Chad Brown's release is going to happen sooner or later unless Brown agrees to accept a reduction in pay from $4.2 million to roughly $1 million this season.

No. 2, the Seahawks would welcome back Brown, at that same pay cut or less, if he tested the free-agent market and found no takers.

And No. 3, even though recently acquired linebacker Jamie Sharper has not yet signed the five-year, $17.5 million deal he agreed to last week, he will sign eventually.

Brown's days appear numbered, even though his agent, Peter Schaffer, is having discussions with the Seahawks in an effort to reduce the pay cut.

"Obviously, Chad's been a great player for the Seahawks, and we'd love to keep him and have him end his career as a Seahawk," Ruskell said yesterday. "He's been a hard-working guy and a warrior on the field. But ... there's more to it than that. There's been some durability concerns and his age and that kind of thing. So that may not work out the way we want it to or the way Chad wants it to. If it would come to pass that he would be released, our door would still be open if he tested the waters and there wasn't anything out there. And he knows that, and I've told him that."

Brown, who turns 35 in July, has spent the past eight seasons of a 12-year NFL career with the Seahawks. A Pro Bowl player with Seattle in 1998 and 1999, Brown signed a five-year, $28.5 million extension before the 2002 season. But injuries have cost him 19 games the past three seasons.

"I know that Chad Brown will play in the NFL in 2005," Schaffer said.

In essence, the Seahawks need the money from Brown's release or pay cut to seal the deal with Sharper.

"We've got to do what's best for the team, and we've got to get better," Ruskell said of Brown. "He's a proud player and [has] been a good player."

The team has yet to decide where Sharper will play, either outside or inside linebacker. Ruskell said that will be determined in upcoming minicamps and training camp.

Notes

• The Carolina Panthers signed former Seahawks punter Tom Rouen yesterday, ending Rouen's Seahawks career after two years. Rouen, 36, averaged 42 yards per punt in 2004 but was lost for the season after four games with a pulled hamstring.

• Cornerback Michael Harden, who was on the Seahawks' practice squad last season, was named NFL Europe's defensive player of the week for Week 3 of the developmental league's season. Harden intercepted two passes in Berlin's 31-27 win over Amsterdam and had four tackles. Harden is the second Seahawks cornerback to be given the honor this spring, along with B.J. Tucker.