Proposed Trade Delivers 52.5 Sack Star to Jets From NFC Bottom Feeder

Getty Carolina Panthers pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney reacting in the middle of an NFL game.

The New York Jets could raid the coffers of a lesser team to improve the roster.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini proposed a potential trade ahead of the deadline that could bring another pass rusher to the team.

New York Jets receive: pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney

Carolina Panthers receive: a 2025 sixth-rounder

“The name you gotta look at is Jadeveon Clowney. He is with the Panthers, I mean are the Panthers going to be a contender this year? I doubt it. The trading deadline is November 5. I think that is worth a phone call for Joe Douglas,” Cimini said on “The Flight Deck Podcast.” “Look I’d give up a sixth-round pick for Clowney, for sure. I mean is he the Clowney of old? Probably not, but he’s got a sack this year and has played about 65% of the snaps. He’d be a good rotational piece for the Jets.”

Clowney Would Add Another Option to the Jets Defense

According to ESPN’s analytics, Carolina has a 23.4% chance to have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, by far the best odds of any team.

They are a terrible football team that isn’t expected to turn it around anytime soon. Why hold onto an aging asset that isn’t going to change your fortunes?

Clowney, 31, signed a two-year $20 million contract with the Panthers this offseason.

“Maybe a fourth or a fifth-round pick, I mean he’s older [31 years of age]. I don’t see him being this oh [he will cost] a second or third-round pick [in a trade], I don’t see that happening. I don’t see any team trying to acquire him with that so a fourth or a fifth would do it,” Jets reporter Nick Faria said. Cimini had an even lower evaluation of a sixth-round draft choice.

The Jets on the other hand have far greater expectations. They are 2-1 on the season, 2-0 in the AFC, and 1-0 inside the AFC East. According to ESPN’s analytics, the green and white have a 79% chance to make the playoffs in 2024. Those are the fourth-best odds in the conference

Jets Wanted Clowney This Offseason, Have a Chance for a Re-Do

The green and white turned over a ton of stones this past offseason to find pass-rush talent. One of the avenues they explored was signing Clowney in free agency.

NFL Insider Jordan Schultz said Clowney and the Jets “remained in constant contact” this offseason and the team was “highly motivated” to lock him in. However, the Panthers swooped in with a big contract and he landed there.

If the Jets had interest a few months ago, they’d likely still have interest now.

Clowney is a solid pass rusher. In his 11 seasons in the pros, Clowney has racked up 52.5 sacks, 128 quarterback hits, and 99 tackles for loss. He is in the midst of his No. 11 season in the league, in six of his first 10 campaigns he has registered at least 4.5 sacks.

Clowney has never had a double-digit sack season in his career but he has been close on several occasions. A strong argument could be made that Clowney in this Jets scheme and with the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball, could unlock a new level in 2024.

On top of his pass-rushing prowess, Clowney has been an elite presence against the run. He has a career 76.4 run defense grade for Pro Football Focus.

This would be a very low-risk versus a high-reward type of move for the Jets. They can use more pass rushers. The Panthers could use more future draft assets. This makes too much sense not to happen.