When Will Jadeveon Clowney Return to Practice?

Amidst all the excitement surrounding the Houston Texans this training camp, there remains a giant question looming. The 6’5″, 266 pound elephant in the room that at one point ran a 4.3 40.

Is Jadeveon Clowney ever going to live up to the hype?

In the 2014 draft, Clowney was the consensus number one overall pick. Since then, other top picks like Mike Evans and Khalil Mack have already made an impact on their squad. Clowney, on the other hand, has been nothing more than a disappointment.

Steve Spurrier set the tone early when he commented that he didn’t think Clowney was a hard worker. The former South Carolina star missed chunks of his first training camp, first recovering from hernia surgery then a concussion he suffered in a joint practice with the Broncos.

Clowney wasn’t ready for his first NFL season.

In his first regular season game, Clowney went down in the second quarter against the Redskins. His right knee would require arthroscopic surgery, and the initial diagnosis was 4-6 weeks. During his time on the sidelines, Clowney was criticized for liking Instagram pictures during a game.

The downward spiral continued in December, when Clowney had a second surgery on his right knee and was placed on injured reserve. He appeared in just four games, and recorded five tackles.

What now for Clowney? After recovering from microfracture surgery, the expectations have all but evaporated. Now, with Clowney starting training camp practicing seperately from the team, coach Bill O’Brien has set a tentative date for his return.

O’Brien stated in a meeting with media recently that the team is targeting August 17th as a possible return date for Clowney. O’Brien and GM Rick Smith have met with Clowney periodically throughout the offseason, and have said that he is progressing ahead of schedule and should be ready for the 2015 season.

America will get it’s first closeup with Clowney, O’Brien, and the rest of the Texans, when Hard Knocks debuts August 11th.