Season-ending knee surgery ‘imminent’ for impressive Seahawks rookie Tre Brown

One the Seahawks best players in an otherwise worst month is apparently out for the season.

Rookie cornerback Tre Brown is on his way to having knee surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

“He’s going to get surgery, yes,” Carroll said, the day after Brown’s knee buckled as he was jumping to defend a pass to Arizona’s A.J. Green in the second quarter of 3-7 Seattle’s latest loss.

“If that’s what has to take place and it follows through ... it looks like surgery is imminent, yeah,” Carroll said, “so he would be (out for the final seven games of this season).”

Carroll said the second of the team’s three choices in last spring’s draft is seeking multiple medical opinions to confirm the need for surgery. The Seahawks want him to get the procedure and repair now so he can return for the start of the 2022 season.

“He’s getting all the opinions and all that, so he can get back and ready to roll, the sooner the better to get him operated on,” Carroll said.

Brown seized the starting left cornerback job last month aggressively attacking passes in the air and receivers after catches. That was after he spent two months on injured reserve.

Carroll said Monday morning on his weekly radio show with KIRO-AM that Brown has had an “long-term” knee issue since at least back to his days playing at Oklahoma University.

His emergence sent Sidney Jones to the bench. Jones played Sunday against the Cardinals because starting right cornerback D.J. Reed missed the game with knee and groin injuries.

Carroll said Monday “I don’t know of any updates” on Reed’s status for the Seahawks’ next game in seven days, at Washington (4-6).

“He did not have a severe injury,” Carroll said, “but he did have a setback.”

Bless Austin, a former New York Jets starter, entered the Cardinals game to play opposite Jones after Brown got hurt midway through the second quarter Sunday. Carroll said of Austin’s first defensive snaps in a game for the Seahawks: “He survived.”

That’s typically a Carroll euphemism for it not going well.

Austin entered at right cornerback in the second quarter against Arizona Sunday after Brown got hurt. Jones moved to the left side. On Austin’s second drive playing, he fell down running up to defend a stop route outside by Antoine Wesley. The Cardinals wide receiver sped past the fallen Austin for a 20-yard gain.

Carroll praised Jones, the former University of Washington standout acquired at the start of the season about the same time Seattle added Austin, for his play against Arizona. Jones and Carroll thought the former Eagles and Jaguars starter made a game-changing interception and return to the Arizona 11-yard line in the third quarter. It was ruled that way on the field. But a replay review by NFL headquarters in New York ruled the diving Jones used the ground to secure the ball between his arms, so the play became an incomplete pass instead.

Carroll was still questioning that call into Monday.