Jadeveon Clowney - Pro Football Rumors

Jadeveon Clowney’s Best Multi-Year Offer Came From Browns

June 18th, 2020 at 8:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns’ offer wasn’t good enough for Jadeveon Clowney, but it’s the best multi-year opportunity he’s gotten, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The Browns’ proposal was previously estimated to be somewhere in the range of $12MM/year.

Earlier this week, we heard that the Browns would be willing to move their offer up to somewhere around $15MM/year. It’s not clear whether they’d be open to giving him that kind of money over multiple seasons or just for 2020, however.

The Browns have nearly $40MM in cap space, plenty of cash for summer upgrades. Besides, any deal for Clowney worth $15MM or less could be offset by the release of Olivier Vernon, who is due $15.25MM in non-guaranteed cash this year.

Clowney could effectively come as a package with a Myles Garrett extension. Both defensive ends are represented by Bus Cook, who is presently working to make Garrett the highest-paid DE in league history.

The Seahawks haven’t ruled out a reunion with Clowney either, but they’re limited by their cap situation. With just ~$14MM in spare room, they’ll have to get creative – and convincing – to bring the former No. 1 overall pick back to Seattle. For what it’s worth, they offered Clowney a ~$15MM deal earlier in the offseason, before they allocated most of their money elsewhere.

Browns Willing To Increase Offer To Jadeveon Clowney?

June 15th, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns continue to put in work on the Jadeveon Clowney front. In addition to the team talking with Clowney’s agent — amid Myles Garrett extension talks, with Bus Cook representing both players — it appears the Browns would be willing to increase their offer.

Cleveland’s previous offer to Clowney came in around the $12MM-per-year range. The Browns would sign off on paying the former No. 1 overall pick in the $15MM neighborhood on a one-year deal, Albert Breer of SI.com notes.

Clowney is believed to have received an offer around $15MM AAV from the Seahawks. The three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher dropped his asking price from around $20MM per year to the $17-$18MM-AAV range early in free agency but has remained on the market for several weeks since.

As of Monday, the Browns hold an NFL-most $37MM in cap space — well north of the Seahawks’ $13.9MM — and could outmuscle the Hawks for Clowney if they chose to. The Browns have been connected to Clowney for over two months. Should the Browns land Clowney, they would likely create more cap space by parting ways with Olivier Vernon. The latter is set to earn a Browns-most $15.25MM in 2020 base salary, which is currently non-guaranteed.

While a $15MM payment would be almost a middle-class edge rusher deal this year, with 17 edge defenders earning that on average, a one-year deal would allow Clowney a chance to re-enter the market at 28 during what could well be a more normal 2021 offseason.

Latest On Browns, Jadeveon Clowney

June 14th, 2020 at 7:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Jadeveon Clowney wasn’t interested in Cleveland’s last contract offer, but the Browns haven’t given up on signing the former No. 1 overall pick, as Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer writes. They’re already in contact with Clowney’s agent Bus Cook as they negotiate an extension for Myles Garrett, which could help to facilitate a deal.

The Browns’ offer was believed to be somewhere in the $12MM range, a far cry from the $20MM Clowney was said to be seeking when free agency opened. At some point in March, Clowney scaled back his expectations to $17-$18MM per year, but no one was willing to get into that territory. His highest reported offer came from the Seahawks, who pitched him on a one-year, $15MM pact to return. The Seahawks are also keeping the door open – at least slightly – but that deal is not believed to be on the table at present.

Between Garrett and Olivier Vernon, the Browns are pretty well set at defensive end. Still, Clowney could offer greater upside than Vernon, who finished out with just 3.5 sacks in his first year with Cleveland. Vernon is currently set to earn $15.25MM in 2020, but his salary is completely non-guaranteed. If the Browns keep him, it’s likely that they’ll ask him to adjust his invoice. The Browns could also easily shed him and replace him with Clowney, who notched 24.5 sacks and three Pro Bowl trips between 2016 and 2018.

In the interest of equal time – Clowney didn’t offer much in the way of sacks last year, either. Clowney had just three with Seattle, his lowest showing of any healthy season.

Seahawks Notes: Hyde, Dunbar, Clowney

June 13th, 2020 at 2:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the latest from Seattle:

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll believes that new running back Carlos Hyde will be ready to go for Week 1 (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times). Hyde’s camp is similarly optimistic after the veteran went under the knife to fix a torn labrum. After a rash of injuries at the position, the Seahawks are counting on the 1,000-yard rusher to stay healthy this year. For his part, Carroll says that Hyde’s presence will allow the team to gradually ease Rashaad Penny back into things.
Carroll told reporters that Quinton Dunbar has rejoined the Seahawks for virtual offseason meetings (Twitter link via Condotta). Beyond that, Carroll offered no comment on Dunbar’s ongoing situation. Dunbar is facing four charges in connection with an alleged armed robbery in Florida. His alleged accomplice, cornerback Deandre Baker, has been kept away from offseason activities by the Giants.
The chatter of a potential reunion between the Seahawks and Jadeveon Clowney continues, but Brady Henderson of ESPN.com gets the sense that the club is only focused on low-cost additions at this time. Earlier this year, the Seahawks reportedly put a one-year, $15MM offer on the table for the defensive end, but it seems that offer is no longer valid. The Browns saw their offer rebuffed recently and the Titans say that there hasn’t been much movement on the Clowney front.

Latest On Titans’, Browns’ Pursuit Of Jadeveon Clowney

June 12th, 2020 at 12:39pm CST by Rory Parks

Nothing like another Jadeveon Clowney story to ring in the weekend. The former No. 1 overall pick remains unsigned, with the Titans, Browns, and — perhaps to a lesser extent — Seahawks representing the most likely landing spots.

The Titans have reportedly made multiple offers to Clowney, but obviously those offers were unappealing to a player who was said to be seeking a lucrative multi-year pact worth around $20MM per year when the offseason began. Tennessee GM Jon Robinson had previously acknowledged that he discussed a contract with Clowney’s camp, but there have been no talks between the two sides for awhile.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Robinson said, “No conversations of recent. I think we’re going to continue to monitor it and see where [it goes]. I’ve seen what you guys have seen that’s been posted on social media. I know he wants to play. I think we would be a pretty good fit for him, and there was some mutual interest there when we started the discussion, but I would say that really hasn’t grown any legs since we spoke last” (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk).

The Titans have always looked like a good fit given the presence of head coach Mike Vrabel — the Texans’ LB coach and defensive coordinator during Clowney’s first four years in Houston — and given the club’s need for another pass rusher. The team did take a flier on Vic Beasley and will return Harold Landry, who posted nine sacks in a promising sophomore effort in 2019, but Clowney could provide a major boost to the Titans’ defensive front.

As for the Browns, we last heard that they recently floated an offer that would have paid Clowney $12MM/year in base salary, but in the story linked above, Williams cites a report indicating that Cleveland has also put forth a one-year, $18MM proposal. It’s unclear if that’s accurate or a typo, as Williams may simply have intended to reference the $12MM/year report. If Cleveland really did offer one year at $18MM, roughly the amount that Clowney would have made if Seattle had been willing and able to use the franchise tag, he should probably snap it up.

For his part, though, Clowney has said he is willing to be patient and does not feel rushed to sign before teams have the opportunity to look at him in person and evaluate his medicals. Given the gradual return to normalcy throughout the country, that may happen sooner rather than later.

Seahawks Offered Jadeveon Clowney $15MM/Year?

June 10th, 2020 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

At one point in negotiations, the Seahawks offered Jadeveon Clowney a one-year, $15MM deal, according to a league source who spoke with Mike Florio of PFT. If that proposal is still on the table, it stands to reason that the defensive end could return to Seattle, but according to veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson, that is not the case (Twitter link). Anderson says that the starting point for negotiations between the two sides would be “very different” than the $15MM figure.

Clowney has said that he wouldn’t mind returning to the Seahawks, though he rejected an offer from the team early in the offseason. Since then, the Seahawks have found front seven help elsewhere by adding Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa in free agency. They also found edge help in the draft by selecting outside linebacker Darrell Taylor (Round 2) and defensive end Alton Robinson (Round 5).

When free agency opened, Clowney was said to be asking for $21MM/year. Weeks later, that ask was reduced to around $17-$18MM per annum. The Browns – long believed to be a frontrunner – recently offered Clowney a deal that was worth somewhere around $12MM per year. The former No. 1 overall pick turned them down in hopes of finding a better deal, but some believe that Clowney is overestimating his market.

The Giants, Eagles, and Jets are not in the mix for Clowney, even though they could all use some help on the edge. That leaves the Browns and Titans as the likely frontrunners, though the Titans have also downplayed their level of interest. The Seahawks are still open to bringing Clowney back, per Anderson, but it seems their offer would be closer to the one that the Browns put on the table.

Jets Aren’t Interested In Jadeveon Clowney

June 3rd, 2020 at 4:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Giants aren’t pursuing Jadeveon Clowney and the same goes for the other tenants of MetLife Stadium. The Jets spoke with the edge rusher’s agent, but they do not have serious interest in signing him, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com hears. Furthermore, Cimini hears that the Jets were never serious about him at any point this offseason.

Clowney did his best to drum up interest from the Jets earlier this year, signaling a desire to join up with Gang Green. The Jets could use some help in the pressure department, but they’ve only got so much cap room to work with and bigger fish to fry. Specifically, they’re on the lookout for help at cornerback and they’ve got their sights set on former Titans standout Logan Ryan. As of this writing, they’ve got about $25MM to spend.

A confluence of factors have led to an unexpectedly long free agency spell for the former No. 1 pick. Beyond the pandemic and the ongoing unrest, Clowney’s asking price has proven to be a major hurdle. At the outset of free agency, Clowney was reportedly looking for $20MM/year. Then, he dropped it to about $17MM or $18MM. So far, it sounds like his best offer came from the Browns at around $12MM, a deal that Clowney’s camp rejected.

The Browns are still interested in Clowney, but the list gets murky after Cleveland. The two New York/New Jersey teams are out and the Eagles don’t want to approach his asking price either.

Browns Offered Jadeveon Clowney $12MM/Year?

June 2nd, 2020 at 1:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Jadeveon Clowney recently rejected an offer from the Browns, one that is rumored to be the most lucrative of any he’s received thus far. Still, it sounds like it was a far cry from the type of coin that Clowney has become accustomed to. The Browns’ proposal was believed to be worth around $12MM per year in base salary, agents tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

That’s the “word in the agent community,” per La Canfora. The full and true details of the offer are only known to Clowney’s representatives and those in the Browns’ front office. It’s also not immediately clear whether the Browns were offering a one-year deal or a multi-year arrangement. Either way, the Browns haven’t been totally turned off – they’re reportedly still interested.

When Clowney was traded from the Texans, he made the Seahawks promise not to use the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive season. The Seahawks probably wouldn’t have given him a 20% bump over his ’19 salary, but as JLC notes, a one-year, $18MM tether for 2020 would have been preferable to his current situation. So far, the Browns offer is apparently the best Clowney has been able to scare up, and the base compensation is about 25% less than Matthew Judon’s DE/LB hybrid tag for this year.

Clowney seems prepared to wait things out, even though most of the league’s dollars have dried up and many of his potential suitors have backed out. The Giants, Eagles, and Jets are putting their energy elsewhere, leaving the Browns and Titans as the likely frontrunners. Right now, Clowney seems unlikely to get anywhere near his original $20MM ask, unless the Ravens make a surprise pivot by trading Judon and signing the former No. 1 overall pick.

Giants Won’t Pursue Jadeveon Clowney

May 31st, 2020 at 11:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants could use an edge rusher and Jadeveon Clowney remains available, but they’re not interested in the former No. 1 overall pick, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. This jibes with recent comments from GM Dave Gettleman who indicated that he’ll focus on lower-priced options.

In March, Clowney said that he’d be open to joining the Giants, but that interest hasn’t been reciprocated. Instead, the Giants seem more focused on a reunion with Markus Golden, a cheaper edge rusher who led the team with ten sacks last year. The Giants tethered Golden with the rarely used unrestricted free agent tender, which will bring him back to the club if no one else signs him by July 22. Golden doesn’t have Clowney’s name value, and the advanced metrics aren’t keen on his lack of quarterback pressures last year, but he’d be a better budgetary fit. If no one bites on Golden in the next seven weeks, the Giants would have him back on a one-year, $4.12MM deal.

Last week, we learned that Clowney rejected an offer from the Browns. The Browns are still interested in signing him, just not at his current asking price. That’s more or less the case for every team connected to Clowney, though the Eagles believe that the gap is too large to even consider a pursuit.

NFC West Notes: Ford, Clowney, Collier

May 29th, 2020 at 6:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dee Ford played a key part of the 49ers‘ dramatic pass rush improvement last season, but the former Chiefs edge defender spent the season battling injuries. The 49ers did not use Ford last season nearly as much as the Chiefs did in 2018, with Ford’s knee and hamstring troubles contributing to his sporadic deployment. Ford took a step to a healthier 2020 season by undergoing knee surgery this offseason, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Ford described the operation as a “pretty extensive cleanup.”

He underwent the procedure a few weeks after Super Bowl LIV. Ford encountered multiple bouts of knee tendinitis last year, first in training camp and then aggravating the injury while training on artificial surfaces when the 49ers prepped for their Bengals game in Ohio. This preceded his hamstring trouble, but it sounds like Ford’s knee was an issue throughout the season. The 29-year-old defender said he “feels great” months later.

“I’m able to actually explode off of this knee,” said Ford, who finished with 6.5 sacks last season. “Thinking back on it, I can’t believe I played a whole season on it. And we knew at the end of the day what we had to do — (it) had to be surgical. But I didn’t want to miss the season. We had too much going on. I didn’t want to miss that. It’s in the bag now. I’m confident in that.”

Here is the latest from the NFC West, shifting to some Seahawks defensive line matters:

Although he has most recently been connected to the Browns and Titans, Jadeveon Clowney remains on the Seahawks‘ radar. Clowney’s most recent team remains interested in a reunion, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. But, as has been the case throughout, the Seahawks appear to be hoping Clowney will drop his asking price. Clowney already did so earlier this offseason, but based on his 2 1/2-month free agency stay, the former No. 1 overall pick appears to still be asking for more than teams are willing to pay.
L.J. Collier did not accomplish much on the field during his rookie season, playing only 152 defensive snaps and making just three tackles. Collier, however, suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason and said he may have rushed back from the injury. The TCU product is healthy now as training camp approaches (Twitter links via Condotta). The Seahawks plan to give Collier a shot to play a Michael Bennett-type role in their defense. Collier is slated to work at both defensive end and D-tackle, Condotta adds (on Twitter).
The Cardinals have not made a strong effort to lock up Patrick Peterson on another extension, but the contract-year cornerback said he still wants to play his entire career in Arizona.
Conversely, Rams No. 1 corner Jalen Ramsey received a strong endorsement from his head coach about both his future with the Rams and ability to reset his position’s market.