RENTON -- Cornerback Jeremy Lane failed his physical with the Houston Texans on Tuesday, forcing the two teams to amend the terms of Monday's trade that brought left tackle Duane Brown to Seattle.
Lane had just returned from a groin strain to play six snaps against the Texans on Sunday. Head coach Pete Carroll said Lane sustained a thigh bruise in the game as well, which was why he played so few snaps in the game.
Some combination of those injuries was enough for the Texans to scrap Lane's inclusion in the trade for Brown.
According to multiple reports, Lane's failed physical means he returns to the Seahawks' roster. That could cause further problems for Seattle's salary cap as they needed to create space for the addition of Brown. Now they need to carry both contracts on their roster moving forward.
The initial agreement had been Brown to Seattle in exchange for Lane, a 2018 conditional fifth-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the amended deal changes the fifth-round pick to a third-round pick headed to Houston. The Texans also send a fifth-round pick back to Seattle as well.
So the complete deal now is Brown to Seattle with a 2018 fifth-round pick for a 2018 third-round pick and 2019 second-round pick.
Lane's remaining $2.1 million salary is guaranteed, which means Seattle has to account for it somehow. After trying to trade Lane, it could make it difficult for the Seahawks to bring him back to the roster. One change is that now with the trade deadline passed, all players released by teams have to go through the waiver process. The Seahawks could release Lane and hope another team claims him off waivers, which would transfer his contract to the new team. If he clears waivers, Seattle would remain responsible for the remaining money on their cap.
The Seahawks had to restructure Russell Wilson's contract Tuesday morning in order to create the space needed to absorb Brown's remaining $4.9 million on their salary cap. Now they have to reabsorb Lane's $2.1 million as well.
According to Andrew Brandt of theMMQB.com, Wilson converted $6.26 million of his salary to a signing bonus that allows them to spread the cap hit out over the remaining years of the deal. That opened up $4.1 million of room. With $1.4 million in cap space before the initial deal and the removal of Lane's $2.1 million from the cap, that created enough room for the addition of Brown.
Seattle should barely be able to fit Lane's contract on their salary cap. If calculations are correct, they should have $636,993 in cap space while adding Brown, keeping Lane's contract and factoring in Wilson's restructure. It could force Seattle to have to do another contract manipulation to create more space should they need to add players to the roster as injuries pile up the rest of the season.
Freeing themselves of Lane's remaining salary was a welcome part of the initial trade. Having to now send a third-round pick instead of a fifth-round pick to the Texans to complete the deal is also a blow to Seattle. But the bottom line remains the same, the Seahawks have added a former Pro Bowl left tackle that addresses the single biggest area of concern on the team.
Photo Credit: GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 03: Cornerback Jeremy Lane #20 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts to an interception in the first quarter during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on January 3, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)