Jadeveon Clowney is looking to bring the first Super Bowl to the Houston Texans.
Clowney insisted that the sour departure that he had in his first stint with the team has no bearing now, a point that was already underscored by the fact that he spurned other offers to come back home, where he still has deep roots.
However, Clowney also drew attention at the podium for a quite telling reaction while talking about one of his former head coaches.
Jadeveon Clowney Sets High Bar for 2026 Season
GettyJadeveon Clowney is happy to be back with the Texans, but has a clear goal.
Clowney spoke honestly following his first practice with the Texans in his return, admitting he never envisioned a return. However, Clowney said he is “glad” he is back, is “having fun” after joining a “great defense” and “trying to chase that Super Bowl with the Texans.
“I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me, my family. Just enjoying it,” Clowney told reporters on August 4 before expounding about his goal of reaching the Super Bowl.
He also noted that he passed on more money to return.
“My whole thing was to chase the Super Bowl this year. No better place for me to do it than here. I think they had great defense last year. I said, ‘If I can go there, help my guys…,’ Clowney said. “I’m like, ‘It’s Year 13, I started here, go back here and try to win there and see how the rest of my career go. But it’s been a great run, man. It’s been great.”
Reporters then asked Clowney if he held any resentment about how his first stint with the Texans ended with a trade to the Seattle Seahawks. Clowney, who has been with five other teams since then, said that bygones are bygones.
Jadeveon Clowney Jokes About Bill O’Brien
GETTYJadeveon Clowney spoke candidly about his relationship with ex-Texans HC Bill O’Brien.
Clowney noted that he and polarizing former Texans head coach Bill O’Brien did not see eye to eye during his first stint.
Clowney took responsibility for being too immature to understand the why at the time.
“I ain’t had no hard feelings. It was just O’Brien at the time,” Clowney said while chuckling at the podium. “Me and him bumped heads, and I couldn’t really understand, because I was an easygoing guy. I was like, ‘All right, whatever you want from me type of guy, it is fine.’ Especially when I’m 21 years old, 22 years old. I was just taking people’s advice instead of really looking in the mirror trying to figure myself out.”
Clowney continued, “As I got older, I started saying ‘Just take care of yourself, Clowney, and it’s going to work out for you.’ And I started doing that when I left here. That’s how I think I lasted eight more years in the league, where I just started taking care of myself, and developing my game, and having fun with it.”
Clowney said that he is “grown” now when asked how he is different than when he left, and touted how his veteran presence can be a positive influence on his new teammates.
Jadeveon Clowney Looking to be Difference-Maker
GettyJadeveon Clowney is looking to make a difference with the Texans.
Clowney is not looking to be a passenger with the Texans. Asked if he had any individual goals, he said, “always,” and that it was to “make plays. He admitted that it is still unclear how his role will develop.
However, he touted his run-stopping prowess and that “every year everybody want to make sacks.”
Moreover, Clowney is focused first and foremost on winning.
“That’s the whole league for D-linemen. In your head, ‘Got to go out there and make sacks.’ I already know I’m gonna play good in the run game. We already know that. That’s just what I do. But make sacks, make plays, help the guys around me. Really win. I want to win at this point.
“I want to win. I’ve got a taste of that; in Dallas, got a taste of that. And Baltimore, thought we were going to win one. And at this point in my career, I just want to win a Super Bowl.”
Jadeveon Clowney Delivers Honest Words Amid Texans Return