The Houston Texans agreed to trade pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, as first reported by Jay Glazer of FOX Sports. Clowney never reported to the Texans throughout the offseason after being issued the franchise tag, instead requesting a trade. Once this deal is processed, he will have gotten his wish.
And the trade uniquely impacts the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are scheduled to open their regular season against the Houston Texans at home inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome before flying out to the West Coast, visiting the Seahawks in Week 3. They would have ended up lining up against Clowney whether he were traded or not, but now they’ll be facing him in front of a noisy Seattle home crowd.
He’ll also be rushing off the edge opposite Ezekiel Ansah, a veteran sack artist the Saints pursued in free agency earlier this summer. That combination will test Saints bookend tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk right away. The Saints are one of few teams who can boast an All-Pro at both the left and right tackle spots, so this promises to be a marquee matchup.
What’s fascinating is what the Seahawks gave up to acquire Clowney. They reportedly sacrificed depth at linebacker and a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to get him out of Houston, which is much less compensation than expected. Still, it opens holes in the middle of the field for Saints pass-catchers Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook to exploit, as well as Michael Thomas when aligned in the slot.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: in Week 1, the Saints offense was always going to focus its efforts on slowing down J.J. Watt, whether Clowney joined him up front or not. The game plan won’t change much on that side of the ball. When the Saints are playing defense, young Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson is just as poorly-protected as he was before. Former Carolina Panthers turnstile Matt Kalil — who Cameron Jordan nicknamed “Speedbump McGee” — is the projected left tackle. That bodes well for a fiery Saints pass-rush rotation featuring Jordan, Marcus Davenport, and Trey Hendrickson.
