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Jadeveon Clowney apparently overplayed his hand. After lowering his asking price last week to $17 million, the Seahawks have reportedly flipped on the 27-year-old edge rusher and are no longer interested in bringing him back for a second season. On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo characterized the chances of Clowney returning to Seattle as “slim …
Jadeveon Clowney apparently overplayed his hand.
After lowering his asking price last week to $17 million, the Seahawks have reportedly flipped on the 27-year-old edge rusher and are no longer interested in bringing him back for a second season.
On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo characterized the chances of Clowney returning to Seattle as “slim to none.” He added that the Seahawks are “moving on to Plan B, C and D” and “aren’t actively chasing Clowney right now.”
Last week, Seattle inked pass rusher Benson Mayowa to a one-year, $3 million deal and “plan B, C and D” could involve former Minnesota defensive end Everson Griffen, who remains unsigned.
Clowney was traded to Seattle last year from Houston and recorded three sacks, 21 tackles and four forced fumbles in 13 games played.
Despite the uneven showing in 2019, the former No. 1 draft pick was considered one of the most prominent free agents entering this offseason and sought a deal worth $20 million, which would have put him in line with the salaries of the top defensive ends like the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence and Bears’ Khalil Mack. Earlier, he turned down a $17 million-per-year offer from the Dolphins and a $18.5 million-per-year offer from the Seahawks in hopes of striking gold elsewhere.
“No one has met Clowney’s price or even, from what I understand, really come close to it,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said back in March. “So at this point it seems he is willing to wait for the right deal.”
The Dolphins went forward in signing lower-priced defensive ends Emmanuel Ogbah and Shaq Lawson after Clowney rejected their bid.
At the time, the Seahawks still wanted to bring him back, but had “not yet met his price either,” Rapoport said.
Clowney’s disappointing free agency could be an unforeseeable byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic. With NFL physicals suspended indefinitely, teams are unable to assess the oft-injured player who has only played all 16 games once (2017).
The versatile South Carolina product has been hampered by injuries since his time in college, but was still selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Texans after excelling at the combine, where he recorded the top 40-yard dash time among defensive linemen of 4.53 seconds.
Injuries began to pile up almost immediately once he entered the league. A torn meniscus and microfractures in his knee sidelined Clowney for 12 games in his rookie year, and he has undergone knee surgery, as well as core surgery this past year.
Both the Giants and Jets have been discussed as potential landing spots, albeit unlikely ones, for Clowney.
“I would say we’re going to do our due diligence on everybody who’s out there, especially at the edge-rusher position,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said on a conference call with reporters last week. “I’m not going to get into the specifics or the details of the conversations we’ve had.”
The Browns, who have the most remaining cap space in the NFL, have recently emerged as potential suitors.
