With salary caps mostly filled, Jadeveon Clowney is unemployed
Only a handful of difference makers remain on the NFL’s free agent market, the most notable being defensive disruptor Jadeveon Clowney, whose value is difficult to quantify. Last year he started 13 games at end, produced 3 sacks and ranked 10th among the Seattle Seahawks with 31 tackles. Modest numbers in the two categories that most define D-linemen. But he was that rare defender who has to be schemed. An offense that doesn’t double-team him invites annihilation.
No lineman makes more “splash plays.” He had 10 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2 recovered fumbles, and one of them he ran back for a touchdown. He also had a pick-6. Not to be overlooked: 13 QB hits, 47 pressures.
But he’s had a long procession of injuries, has missed 21 games in 6 seasons. He should be in his prime, but what’s prime for a player who spends more time riding a stationary bike than chasing quarterbacks? His Houston Texans teammates marveled at how well he performed considering how little he practiced.
He was the NFL’s overall No. 1 pick in 2014, and though he played brilliantly for the Texans when he played at all, they tired of his unreliability. Before last season Bill O’Brien traded him to Seattle for a third-round draft pick and depth linebackers Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo. It was not the dumbest decision O’Brien has made in Houston but it could be the most damaging long-term.
Clowney entered this offseason looking for a 4-year contract at $20 million per. He got nowhere with that plan. He insisted he’s fully recovered from a hernia injury that slowed him toward the end of last season, but coronavirus pandemic prevents him from visiting teams and their doctors.
“Whoever signs me is going to get the best version of me,” Clowney says. But in the NFL there’s no believing without seeing.
The Seahawks reportedly were willing to give $17 million for 3 years, but when Clowney rejected them, they consumed $6 million of cap space by signing the well-traveled edge rusher Bruce Irvin, who’s 32. So now ‘Hawks general manager John Schneider says he can’t pay Clowney what he offered before committing to Irvin.
So Seattle looks unfeasible for Clowney, even though he’s indicating he’ll consider a 1-year prove-it contract. In which case there’s little doubt a team will be getting the best version of him, at least until he’s injured again.
Meanwhile he waits in Houston, which is still his home, and a city that embraces him. He’s a highly intelligent, personable guy, and thousands of Texans fans lament his untimely departure. If only they could have Clowney, J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus rushing the quarterback at the same time.
But all three Pro Bowl players have had major injury issues, and the Texans have not been what they could have been. Their outlook is not especially promising for an upcoming season that in itself is fraught with doubt. For the most part, the NFL teams are set, needing the pandemic to relent so workouts can begin and the season can open as scheduled on September 10, with the Texans playing the Super Bowl champions at Kansas City on a Thursday night.
The power grid looks similar to 2019, with the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens the class of the American Football Conference and San Francisco clearly the best in the National.
The biggest mover may be Tampa Bay, which replaced turnover-plagued Jameis Winston with 6-time Super Bowl winner and universally recognized G.O.A.T. Tom Brady.
The Buccaneers seemingly nailed the Draft, upgrading their weakest positions by plucking likely starters from the first three rounds: offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Tampa Bay became the trendy pick to upend New Orleans in the NFC South
For all the buzz about the Dallas Cowboys, the team to beat in the NFC East remains the Philadelphia Eagles, with their crushing lines and clever coaching. Minnesota in the NFC North pulls farther away from the prematurely rebuilding Green Bay Packers and the incessantly rebuilding Chicago Bears.
The AFC’s most improved team is Indianapolis, looking to rebound from 7-9. The team last year was demoralized by the shocking retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck.
The Colts drafted two of college football’s most dynamic skill players in Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor. The sport’s finest O-line, the Blue Wall, should give extended life to the quarterback, Old Man Rivers on a one-year contract. The free-agency signing of DeForest Buckner stabilizes the front of the defense, while behind him, 24-year-old Darius Leonard is a threat to be Defensive Player of the Year.
If only they can squeeze Clowney under their salary cap, the Colts would be capable of challenging the Chiefs. That might take some maneuvering, but Chris Ballard is one of the most creative of general managers. And Clowney might lower his demands if he senses an opportunity for Super Bowl glory that eluded him in Houston and Seattle. He’s at that magical age of 27 when great athletes tend to peak. It would be a shame if the best version of Jadeveon Clowney is wasted.
