AUGUST 9: The Ravens have submitted an offer to Clowney, per Josina Anderson of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The former No. 1 pick will mull his options, but the Ravens certainly have an opening amongst veteran edge defenders. Baltimore currently sits at $9.5MM in cap space, which should allow them to field a competitive offer (especially on a one-year pact, which Clowney is likely in line for this late in the offseason) relative to other suitors. It will be worth watching how team and player proceed in the coming days with the pass-rush market having thinned out recently.
AUGUST 8: After both Justin Houston and Yannick Ngakoue reached agreements to further move the edge rusher market along, Jadeveon Clowney looms as the biggest name available. The former No. 1 overall pick is making visits.
Clowney trekked to Baltimore for a Ravens meeting Tuesday, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec tweets. In not re-signing Houston, the Ravens have a potential need on the edge. After multiple agreements with the Browns that occurred earlier in the offseason, Clowney is back in need of a team late in the summer.
Now 30, Clowney has never been able to secure a multiyear contract since his Texans rookie deal expired. The Texans franchise-tagged the former top draftee, leading to a trade with the Seahawks. That preceded one-year pacts with the Titans (2020) and two with the Browns (2021, ’22).
Clowney’s Cleveland tenure started well (nine sacks in 2021) but ended sourly. Clashes with the Browns’ coaching staff led the team to look elsewhere for Myles Garrett complementary options this year. The Browns have since signed Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and traded for Za’Darius Smith.
Letting Houston walk (to the Panthers), the Ravens will be counting on 2021 first-round pick Odafe Oweh, who has yet to justify the team’s investment. Oweh totaled three sacks in 17 games last season. (Houston led the team with 9.5.) The Ravens will have 2022 second-rounder David Ojabo back after an injury-marred rookie year. Tyus Bowser, who also missed time to start last season because of injury, remains with the team. An injury has once again impacted Bowser, however. The seventh-year veteran resides on Baltimore’s active/NFI list. A flareup in Bowser’s knee led to the designation.
A former Texans Pro Bowler, Clowney has offered teams versatility as a pass rusher. He has offered inside-rushing capabilities along with edge work. Despite Clowney’s issues with the Browns’ defensive staff and limited sack production (two), Pro Football Focus rated him as a top-30 defensive end last season. Against the run, PFF slotted Clowney as a top-20 option among edge defenders.
Clowney has undoubtedly heard from multiple teams this offseason, and the deals given to the likes of Houston ($6MM guaranteed), Ngakoue ($10MM locked in), Leonard Floyd ($7MM) and Frank Clark ($5MM) will impact teams’ pursuits of a player who has been patient in past free agency tours. Clowney signed a one-year, $8MM deal with the Browns in 2021 and collected $10MM from the team last year.
Don’t do it! Cleveland paid this Clowney $10mil last year for some uninspired work and a less than stellar locker room presence. Being opposite of Garrett should have definitely led to more than 2 sacks.
He did play well, though. Clowney has always disappointed in the numbers department, but he undoubtedly has impacted games throughout his career. Watching him in game offers a very different picture than hearing the typical fan response regarding his abilities.
Clowney has always underperformed at finishing his pass rush, so it seems, because very often he will knock back tackles or guards off the snap and most often collapses the pocket or pressures the passer and misses the sack. Still, that pressure is valuable, and his run defense has always been superb. I will not argue with anyone who says that Clowney has underperformed, but it is just not factual in actuality to say that he has been bad.
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Do you even watch football? He was not good last year. He’s always hurt. Doesn’t play hard and refuses to even go into the game. There’s so much more to look at other than numbers and they’re bad enough
No, I never watch football. I hate it. I reject its very existence.
I can read, however. “Pro Football Focus rated him as a top-30 defensive end last season. Against the run, PFF slotted Clowney as a top-20 option among edge defenders.” Now, I can already hear your rejection of PFF, or your argument that advanced metrics are secondary to the eye test (which is partially true), but it is certain that a player who outright stinks would not be rated in the upper third of positional starters. And, if this article is correct, that ranking was done in a year with injuries and only a pair of sacks, as compared to other starters. Clowney may be worse than how PFF considers him, I will certainly grant you that; however, we cannot just pretend that that he’s awful when it simply isn’t true, and the data supports that. It’s one thing to say that Clowney is worse than the data suggests, it is quite another to reject the data entirely.
You can think Clowney sucks all you want. People have been just echoing that sentiment for a while now and it simply isn’t true. Disappointing, certainly. And injured. But he is effective on the field, and he has been such behind “one hit in college” that everyone enjoys repeating. You can cling to your opinions all you like, but you’ll find that the “so much more to look at” bears out what I’m saying the more that you look. Reject all you like, but it’s reality.
I never said he’s awful. I said he’s not that good but there’s so much else to consider before signing him. I would put Clowney as a rotational talent but a rotational talent is not worth the injuries and refusal to enter the game. That makes him a bad sign and probably why he’s the last DE out there
I mean, you said he was “not good” when in fact he was. You also made the notion sound like a stark, obvious fact (you questioned whether I watched football, which lends to that conclusion). Simply put, the data does not support that conclusion. Clowney is an injury prone disappointment who has been good to above average, and will be signed for a low value or not at all. Other than the emotional reaction his name seems to invoke, I do not understand why this news would otherwise be so controversial. If the Ravens get what the Browns did (on the field at least), at likely a lower price, and with fewer injuries, this would be a good signing.
I on’t know how long Clowney will last athletically as he ages, as his athleticism is his advantage, but as of right now he can still play and will not command a large salary.
In a 17 game season he only had 2 sacks despite Garrett being the one pulling double-teams/extra attention on that d-line. He missed 5 games as well, so it’s not smart to give that kind of money to somebody that only plays or exerts himself when he feels like it.
This guy has only ever cared about a paycheck.
He made quite the reputation on the one great play in college.
His reputation and his talent are not aligned.
Very average player, IMO.
Legend has it that the Michigan helmet is still rolling to this day
I know people really enjoy saying that, but that’s actually incorrect. Clowney was actually the consensus number one overall pick before that season started. Look it up, it’s well documented.
So? Number 1 picks cant be overrated? Is that your point?
I never said that…? My only point is that “the one hit in college” thing is actually false. That’s all. Clowney was the consensus top pick, or considered close to it, before his final year at South Carolina. All I am saying is that he did not get drafted at one (overdrafted, you could say) based on that one play.
I don’t think anyone has ever been drafted because of one play although I’m guessing some fans think Doug Flutie was after his Hail Mary triumph against the Miami Hurricanes.
That hit elevated his profile. It got him attention he didn’t really have nationality until then.
I cant believe this is disputed, but its fine.
Clowney didn’t have national attention? I can’t link articles here, but if you do not remember, there are plenty that discussed him and his position. I do agree that it is unbelievable that this is disputed as well. A player cannot be considered as disappointing as Clowney is without the sky high expectations across the board to accompany that sentiment.
I’ll link just one article, from NBCSports, from August 2013 (before Clowney’s final season as a junior at South Carolina). Clowney is called “the best defensive prospect in 10 years” by the author, according to several named NFL scouts: link to nbcsports.com
Obviously that didn’t work out, but Clowney certainly had national attention…and this was before the hit.
Fine. I stand corrected.
Im sorry to have offended.
But…my stance remains true: paycheck player.
That, I can’t argue with.
Hey, John Lynch, sign this man now!!!
Clowney looked done last year.
The Broncos are extremely thin at DL. I don’t understand why not bring him in on a one year deal
Overrated and bad attitude?
He will excel in Baltimore. Good teams create a culture and a high standard and it’s infectious. Houston and Cleveland are cursed since Warren Moon/Bernie Kosar days. Sign him up.
Uhhh, Moon played for the NFL team that left Houston for a somewhat better life in Nashville.
Earl Thomas? Real great culture there. Ray Lewis? Great culture. Talk about Lamar quitting on the team last year? Great culture. JK Dobbins questioning his coach after last seasons playoff loss? Great culture. I will give you that Baltimore wins but they have just as many culture issues as any other team
They win, that’s what pays the bills last time I checked bro.
Sadly winning doesn’t matter for the same reasons you may think. The league negotiates national merchandise, licensing, and TV contracts, which make up most of the national revenue. The 32 teams receive equal shares of this money, regardless of individual team performance. Individually teams do generate local income through concession sales, ticket sales, and corporate sponsors.
Winning is only important for the coaching staff and front office so that they can keep their jobs. The Detroit Lions were absolutely awful for years because the old women running the team didn’t care about football, she didn’t spend money on talented players or professionals capable of running a football team. The team was strictly an asset that her and her family profited from. Year after year the Lions lost, and every year the Ford Family received their 1/32 profit share and that was okay with them. Fortunately once the daughter took over the team the entire organization has been revitalized and they now look like real Lions on the field.
What are you talking about? I’m saying the players and the coaches that create a winning culture equates to their bills getting no paid i.e. and ultimately getting renewed contracts. This conversation has nothing to do with the league ‘s revenue sharing system, it’s about players and coaches getting paid by creating a locker room focused on winning.
That’s not culture. That’s just winning which is what I said. If Clowney is a bad teammate, he’ll be a bad teammate for Baltimore too
Ya ask Detroit what their culture has been like for the past two decades, give you a hint starts with an L. When you have leadership that knows how to win games, because these guys are able to focus on the big picture, winning ultimately equals job security, other players follow suit because they don’t want to swim against the current.
Again Baltimore has won, although not lately, but they have the same issues with players as other teams have. To say that signing Clowney will all of a sudden turn Clowney into a guy that wants to practice and play every single down and is a great teammate is ridiculous. That must be why your quarterback quit on his team last year during the stretch run. Sorry, that’s not good culture
.561 winning percentage makes them 4th overall in the league all time, if that ain’t culture then whatever you want to call it or not call it, the locker room created gets the job done ace. A lot of that is focus from top to bottom. Psychology/leadership: 101 -people mimic/imitate. I know you don’t like the ravens and I really don’t either, but I can respect the franchise and what they have accomplished.
What about Earl Thomas? What about Ray Lewis? What about Jackson quitting on the team? That’s what culture is. And they have as many issues as any other team. Again, you act as though everyone they sign will all be on the same page and all be about the team.
The culture debate is interesting and I think both you guys have valid points. Ideally, a culture should be about what Al Davis referred to as a “Commitment to Excellence”. You need high standards and everyone in the organization willing to work hard at achieving those goals. Building that kind of culture requires people with certain values and character traits. People who are selfish and consider their own gain more important than that of the team are certainly going to hinder the building of a strong and successful culture.
And that seems to be Clowney. Avs seems to think that because he’s going to Baltimore that he’s gonna practice hard and play through injuries and be all about the team. That’s just his homerism coming out. Baltimore has had as many bad apple and selfish players as the rest of the teams
AvS’s team is New England for the record. And you proved my point once again, using that word you hate culture and the leadership that defines it, when Baltimore and a few of their players have gone by the wayside over the years, they still some how find away to figure it out and over the course of time autocorrect and win. numbers don’t lie and having the 4th highest winning percentage proves it.
So tell me why has it been so hard for the raiders, Detroit or Cleveland to figure this formula out? So is it just bad luck? They pick in the top five almost every year so the talent would appear to be there. Could it be their culture and this development of the player, physically and mentally and dare I say the team’s habitat and routine could influence all of this. Ask Tom Brady this one about Randy Moss.
The Mark Davis Raiders are a farce but it would be a gross mistake to say that his father didn’t establish a great culture with the team before that.
Agree. Love or hate the raiders in their hay day, there was a cultural tone their you were going to get beat up by the raiders and good luck even with your A game. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that team, management and I’ll even say it’s fan base didn’t sell for a player cashing his check and playing mediocre.
There’s winning and There’s culture. You’re conflating the 2. You said in your original post that the culture Baltimore has will keep Clowney in line and basically make him a team player. That’s BS. If that were the case, why didn’t Orlando Brown become a team player and play RT? Why did Jackson not show up for the last 6 games? Why did Earl Thomas not fall in line? Why isn’t Dobbins in camp? Baltimore wins, I give you that but they do not change players that don’t want to change
Cleveland is actually 26-24 and 1-1 in the playoffs during the last 3 years. That’s more playoff wins than the Ravens in the same time frame. Seems team culture has been better for the Browns most recently
Too early to rest my case about Clowney helping Baltimore?
In London, Coach John Harbaugh said Clowney was always a Raven, he just didn’t know it. Clowney recorded two sacks and nine quarterback pressures last week. He thanked an environment that has his best interests at heart.
“When I got here, I was like, ‘Man, this team,’ I’d be excited to pull up to work. I’d be excited to be out here to practice. Just being here with these guys, it’s starting to show,” he said.
Why has he fit in so well? What’s different for Clowney in Baltimore?
“Talent travels well, you know? Also, I would say his attitude and work ethic are top-notch. He’s got a great mindset. He comes out here every day and gives you everything he’s got. He’s a joy to be around in the meeting rooms, weight room, everywhere,” Harbaugh said
I surrender you win, you got me at comparing Cleveland’s franchise and culture over Baltimore’s.
I mean the Oakland A’s were a pretty good team in the 70’s and 80’s. Sports is all about….what have you done lately….and I’d say they’re pretty much the same lately. Just average