Getty The Seahawks remained in discussions with Jadeveon Clowney until he signed with the Titans.
Jadeveon Clowney broke his silence on his free agency noting how much he loved the Seahawks but not everyone is buying the idea that the pass rusher will be back in Seattle. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Clowney would have to take “significantly less money” than the Seahawks’ initial offer to make it feasible and added that a return to Seattle “isn’t considered likely.”
“On Jadeveon Clowney, my understanding is he would have to take significantly less money than what the Seahawks previously offered him in order for a reunion to happen. The team hasn’t shut the door entirely on Clowney, but bringing him back isn’t considered likely at this point,” Henderson noted on Twitter.
After Clowney made his public comments, Schneider discussed how the Seahawks view the negotiations during an interview on Baltimore 105.7 The Fan. While Schneider continued to indicate Seattle has kept the door open, the Seahawks general manager did not sound optimistic that the pass rusher will be returning.
“We made a strong push to try to reacquire Jadeveon,” Schneider explained. “When we made the trade, we had made a trade with Houston where part of the agreement was we would not franchise him as we headed into this offseason. …The longer these negotiations go there is not a ton of urgency on a lot of people’s behalf, really. …We made a strong pitch to try to reacquire him and then we had to have a date to kind of go about our business and continue to build this team. He knows the door is not closed. He did a really nice job for us. Heckuva player, obviously.”
Clowney Admitted He Hoped to “Work Something Out” With the Seahawks
After more than two months, Clowney conducted his first interview since free agency started. The pass rusher spoke with Fox 26 Houston’s sports director Mark Berman and admitted that he had not ruled out the Seahawks keeping hope that “we can work something out.”
“I love Seattle when I was there this past year,” Clowney noted. “I loved everybody on the coaching staff, I wouldn’t trade them guys in. I hope we can work something out, if anything happen, I did like it up there. I love Russ. I love all the guys I played with. J. Reed [Jarran Reed], B Jack [Branden Jackson], all the boys in my D [defensive line] room. I respect them guys.”
The Pass Rusher Wants NFL Teams to Know He Is in Good Health
Clowney’s interview came along with a video of him training in Houston. The Seahawks portion of his overall comments was small compared to a clearly orchestrated effort to let teams know he is open for business. More importantly, Clowney wanted to show that he is in good health after undergoing core muscle surgery earlier this offseason. The pass rusher admitted that free agency has been difficult without being able to meet with teams.
Perhaps the two parties can meet in the middle, and Clowney will come back to Seattle on a less lucrative one-year deal. Yet, the more the Seahawks talk about Clowney it appears the pass rusher would have to be willing to play for far less money.