Seahawks’ Germain Ifedi, ‘ecstatic’ about Duane Brown’s arrival, gives up No. 76
Nov 1, 2017, 2:10 PM | Updated: 3:41 pm
Germain Ifedi gave No. 76 to Duane Brown after the Pro Bowler arrived in Seattle. (AP)
(AP)
The arrival of newly-acquired left tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans was great news for Seahawks offensive lineman Germain Ifedi.
Ifedi, a 23-year-old Houston native, met the Pro Bowl lineman about three years ago at a gym.
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“I’d been a huge fan for years, and kind of looked to him for years,” Ifedi said, “and it was really cool to connect with him then. … He’s one of the guys I’ve always looked to as a man (and) as a football player.”
The two have remained in contact since, and Ifedi has primarily looked to Brown, 32, as a model for his training – especially during Ifedi’s transition to right tackle. The two linemen were even able to get a bit of work in together this offseason.
It’s why Ifedi said he was “ecstatic” to hear about the Seahawks’ trade for Brown this week. By Wednesday, Brown’s name was already plastered above his new space in the Seahawks’ locker room.
“Duane is one of the guys I really try to mold my game after. To have him here now is really, really cool, it’s really special. … To have him as a teammate, it’s invaluable to a player like me.”
The addition of Brown also brings another change for Ifedi: a new jersey number. Ifedi will make the switch to No. 65 after giving Brown No. 76 – his number during his career with Houston.
“(Brown) hit me up, he said, ‘Hey, what do you want for a number?’ And I said, ‘Hey man, you got it.’ It’s just a number to me. I was happy to give it to him, and it means a lot to him. He was real happy to get it, and I was happy to do it.
“He’s played a long time, future Hall of Famer, I was just happy to have him and I would do whatever it took,” Ifedi said with a smile. “Take my number, take my pads, take my cleats, whatever you need, I’ll get a new one.”
