Top Free Agent Landing Spots For Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney couldn’t single-handedly prevent the Panthers from finishing as the league’s worst defense last year but he did his part. He was probably one of their top three players on that side of the ball, pulling down 5.5 sacks to tie for the team lead and holding up decently in run defense. Clowney made it clear after he was cut he still thinks he has gas in the tank, and the tape last year would back that up. 

The veteran pass rusher’s next team will be his seventh and he’s become accustomed to mercenary life in the NFL. The last team he played more than two consecutive seasons for was the Texans who drafted him with the No. 1 pick. Look for Clowney to catch on with the highest bidder at some point in late August when training camp is done. 

He’ll make $2 million no matter what, as that’s how much the Panthers still owed him in guarantees, but there’s a strong chance Clowney will be looking to top that, as anything up to that number would be subject to offsets. There are plenty of teams that still need help at pass rusher, so he should have a quality market. He might not get back to the $10 million he was set to make in 2025, but something in the $4 to $8 million range seems realistic. 

Clowney, 32, is a former No. 1 overall pick of the Texans back in 2014. He was in the final year of his four-year, $22.272 million contract when the Texans picked up his fifth-year option, which paid him $12.306 million for the 2018 season. 

Houston franchised Clowney before trading him to the Seahawks at the start of the regular season in 2019. It took until September in 2020 for him to sign a one-year deal worth up to $15 million with the Titans. 

Clowney signed with the Browns on one-year deals in 2021 and 2022, the second worth $11 million. He caught on with the Ravens in 2023 on another one-year deal before joining the Panthers last offseason on a two-year contract. However, Carolina released him after one season. 

In 2024, Clowney appeared in and started 14 games for the Panthers and recorded 46 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four pass deflections.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list. 

New England Patriots

Money has proven to be the chief motivator for Clowney but there have been some notable connections that have cropped up over the course of his 11-year career. One is with Patriots HC Mike Vrabel, who was Clowney’s position coach with the Texans when he started his career and brought him to Tennessee when he was the head coach of the Titans. There are some other connections in New England that could help facilitate a reunion with Clowney, including Patriots DC Terrell Williams who was Clowney’s former DL coach. 

And of course, the Patriots have money. No team has more available cap space than the nearly $60 million New England has sitting in the bank right now. They can roll over whatever they don’t use, so they won’t go crazy high above the market for a player like Clowney, but money shouldn’t be an issue. Edge rusher remains one of the notable weaknesses on paper for this Patriots team, so the fit between the two sides would make a lot of sense. 

Washington Commanders

We pegged Washington as a potential landing spot for Von Miller as well, and frankly the Commanders should be in the conversation for a lot of the pass rushers still available. It’s the biggest remaining hole for a team that a lot of people think can take a step forward after appearing in the NFC Championship last year. There are a number of players available who could help lift an otherwise underwhelming pass rush, including Clowney. 

The Commanders don’t have as much cap space to play with as the Patriots but at $20 million in effective operating space per Over The Cap, they’re in great shape to pursue additions to the roster. If they deem Clowney a fit, they can easily afford his likely market. There happen to be several coaches on Washington’s staff who have worked with Clowney before, including LB coach Ken Norton, senior assistant John Pagano and DB coach Tom Donatell, so the Commanders will have a good sense of what Clowney can offer.

Philadelphia Eagles

Many years back, the Eagles were interested in trading for Clowney amidst his contract dispute with the Texans. That didn’t come together and the Eagles have had other cracks at Clowney in the free agent market since then. But the time could finally be right. The Eagles are light at edge rusher, both from a depth chart perspective and literally. Between Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Bryce Huff, Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche — the projected rotation at this point — the biggest player is Huff at 255 pounds. 

Clowney is listed at 266 pounds and probably plays at a heavier weight. Not only would he add some muscle to Philadelphia’s edge room but he’d also be a proven commodity in a rotation that right now is filled with younger players the Eagles hope take a step forward or dart throws from free agency. If the Eagles are dissatisfied with how things look in training camp, it would make a ton of sense for them to reach out to Clowney. 

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee is still rebuilding but HC Brian Callahan needs to show progress in his second season on the job to avoid getting the boot, so there’s motivation to shore up some of the remaining weak spots on the team. Edge rusher is one of the most notable holes remaining. The Titans check a few other notable boxes as well, including available cap space and familiarity. Clowney played in Tennessee and Nashville is conveniently located in the Southeast where he spends a lot of time. The Titans have over $28 million in effective cap space right now, sixth in the NFL. 

Detroit Lions

The Lions are another team that likely will come up in the conversation for every pass rusher with a pulse from now until they prove it’s not a need. Clowney would fit what the Lions are looking for on the field as another edge rusher to capitalize on all the attention put on DE Aidan Hutchinson. Detroit has some cap space to work with at the moment as well, ranking second in the NFL in available cap space at $38 million, behind only the Patriots. 

But no team has prioritized cultural fit more than the Lions, and I think it’s fair to wonder about whether the Detroit brain trust will see Clowney as a fit. There aren’t major character or effort concerns about Clowney, but he has the reputation of taking an independent contractor mentality instead of a team-first one. They traded for veteran DE Za’Darius Smith last year who has been subjected to similar critiques, so perhaps they’d be just fine with bringing Clowney into what is already a strong locker room. It’s just something worth keeping in mind.

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