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The Seattle Seahawks took the high road in their first public comments about Jadeveon Clowney refusing to shut the door on a potential return. But things may be a bit more contentious than the Seahawks are letting on. Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline reported that Clowney was “uncooperative” with the Seahawks when they attempted to re-sign the pass rusher.
“He’s been his own worst enemy,” Pauline said on Nashville’s 1045 the Zone. “The Seattle Seahawks tried to reach out to him about bringing him back. I’m told he was very uncooperative with the Seahawks. He started off with a ridiculous sum of money that he wanted. He has come down on that.”
Pauline added that Clowney’s asking price is now down to $13 million annually. Heading into the offseason, multiple reports indicated Clowney was seeking a salary of more than $20 million.
“ESPN reported $17 million a year, I’m told from within his inner circle it is down to $13 million a year,” Pauline continued. “The fact is this, I think Clowney has been his own worst enemy. There are teams concerned about his medicals. There are people concerned that once he signs a huge contract, he’s basically not going to play. He’s going to turn it off because he is going to have all this guaranteed money. As someone within his inner circle told me, he’s just a different type of person and there are a lot of teams who don’t want to put up with that in the locker room.”
The Seahawks Have Not Closed the Door on Clowney Returning
Seahawks General Manager John Schneider painted a much more open picture when he was asked about it during the team’s pre-draft press conference. If Clowney was indeed uncooperative as Pauline indicated, it would do the Seahawks no good to say this publicly just in case there is a chance the pass rusher is still open to returning. Schneider explained that the talks with Clowney have been “cordial.”
“With Clowney, you know we made the trade,” Schneider explained in the press conference. “He came in and did a great job for us. We made an effort to re-sign him. The door is not closed, but we could not wait any longer. We had to conduct business. He knew that everything was very cordial. He is a great guy represented by a great guy. I go all the way back to Brett Favre [in Green Bay] with his representative, Buzz Cook. We’ve had great conversations. He’s just gonna kind of feel his way through this odd process. We’ll see where that goes.”
Pete Carroll Indicated the Seahawks Discussions Were Ongoing With Clowney
Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll also indicated the team was having an open dialogue with Clowney. Carroll described the Seahawks’ discussions with Clowney as “ongoing.”
“As John said, we are wide open and battling and we’ll take on all the opportunities that show up,” Carroll noted. “We’ll see if Clowney comes back around or not. We don’t know, but we’ll find out in time. Fortunately, it has been handled really well, as John said, so there is an ongoing [nature] to that. We’ll see where he is when he is ready to make a decision. Things have changed a little bit, guys haven’t been able to travel around and get to places and visit and stuff like that. So there’s a number of guys that have kind of taken the [approach] that I am going to wait and see what happens, buy some time here. That’s kinda what it seems like J.D. has done.”
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