Getty Free agent Jadeveon Clowney.
It’s mid-May and Jadeveon Clowney — once thought of the gem of this year’s free agent class — still doesn’t have a team.
Clowney has yet to find a suitor that wants to match the money he wants to make, which is reportedly between $17-20 million, per ESPN. The former No. 1 overall pick did not have the best contract year statistically, collecting just three sacks and 31 tackles in 11 starts with the Seattle Seahawks following a blockbuster offseason trade.
However, he’s just 27 years old and still a towering presence that teams have to account for every play. He made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2016-18 and has 32 career sacks.
Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network thinks Clowney remaining a free agent has more to do with a small market for his services rather than the former Seahawk being patient with the decision.
“I don’t think he’s waiting it out; rather his options are diminishing from where they were two months ago,” Pauline reported. “Much has to do with the current public health crisis. But as I’ve reported, it also has to do with Clowney being his own worst enemy — and that comes from people close to him. Unless a deal is agreed upon that’s heavily tilted in favor of the team, I doubt Clowney signs any time soon.”
Physical Has Been an Issue With Jadeveon Clowney
GettyJadeveon Clowney.
As Pauline points out, the ongoing global pandemic has not made things easy from the point of getting a physical for a player with an injury history. Clowney had core muscle surgery in the offseason and has a history of knee injuries in the past.
“The problem the Browns have is you can’t get him to a physical,” NFL insider Clayton told Bull and Fox on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland earlier this offseason. “If you can’t get him to a physical, you don’t know the extent of how he is coming back from core surgery. You don’t know how that knee is from that micro-fracture [surgery] he had at the beginning of his NFL career. You just have to check him out physically and that’s holding things up.”
The latest odds (per Pickswise) have the Titans (+150) and Browns (+300) as the favorites to land Clowney. The Colts (+400), Giants (+600) and Seahawks (+600) follow.
Browns Have Cap Room for Clowney
GettyJadeveon Clowney.
The Browns have nearly $43.5 million in cap room available for next season (per Spotrac) and also have a situation with current defensive end Olivier Vernon. Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported earlier this offseason that the Browns would “probably be looking to replace” Vernon, who entered the offseason as the highest paid player on the roster, due $15.5 million next season. But the Browns would suffer no dead cap money if they parted ways with him, making the veteran defensive end disposable if they found a better option.
Vernon had 26 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits last season. He’s missed 15 games over the past three years, but was named a Pro Bowler with the Giants in 2018 after collecting seven sacks in 11 games. Both Vernon and Clowney are a gamble at this point in terms of health, so the question would be if the Browns are willing to give Clowney an extra few million dollars on a possible one-year deal to hold down the starting spot opposite Myles Garret, who will be due a big extension of his own soon.
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