Leading up to free agency, Jadeveon Clowney appeared to be atop the New York Giants‘ wish list. It was also reported that Clowney was quite fond of the idea of joining Big Blue, but that he would likely price himself out of their future plans.
Here we are, approaching the conclusion of the third week of free agency and Clowney still remains unsigned. His lack of market has caused him to decrease his asking price, while the Giants’ best edge defender at the moment may very well be Kyler Fackrell. So what’s the hold up on a potential Clowney, Giants marriage?
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Giants Wary of Clowney’s Injury History
Clowney, a 27-year old, former first overall draft pick and two-time Pro Bowler, remaining on the open market has left many fans scratching their heads. According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, the reasoning behind his limited market is quite simple, teams such as the Giants are not willing to commit big money to a player with his injury history.
“Many teams — the Giants included, per sources — are very wary of making a big-money commitment to a player with that kind of injury history. Presumably that has factored into the Jets’ thinking as well.”
That’s certainly an intriguing take, and a definite reason to be wary about committing big money to a player. However, while Clowney’s lone season in Seattle was marred by injuries, he did still manage to appear in 13 games with the Seahawks. Plus, apart from his rookie season where he played in just four games, Clowney played an average of 14.5 games over his four other seasons in Houston.
Clowney’s Sack Numbers Doesn’t Help
Clowney’s production on the football field likely doesn’t help his market either. There’s no denying he’s a disrupting defender. Yet, when a team commits $20-odd million per season to an edge defender, they want to be rewarded with sacks, and plenty of them.
In Clowney’s six seasons as a pro, he’s yet to record double-digit sacks in a single season. In fact, even if you eliminate his rookie season where he started just two games, Clowney has averaged just 6.4 sacks per season over his career.
Clowney Still Too Expensive For NY
Even with his limited number of sacks, there’s still no denying Clowney’s talents. He would automatically be the Giants’ best edge defender the moment he walked through the doors were he to sign with New York. However, that appears to be an extremely unlikely occurrence at this time. According to Vacchiano, the Giants would need Clowney to reduce his asking price even more than he already has for them to entertain bringing him aboard.
“Could Clowney’s price drop far enough to change the thinking of either team? That’s certainly always possible. But if his asking price really is $17-18 million, he might have to nearly cut that in half to draw the New York teams in. Even then, the Giants probably wouldn’t have the cap room to sign him unless they rescinded the $16.1 million franchise tag from Leonard Williams — something they are not intending to do, according to a source.”
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Despite Reduced Rate, Giants Wary of Committing to Jadeveon Clowney: Report