The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the regular season with a major roster upgrade after trading with the Houston Texans for Pro Bowl defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.
Seattle was able to finagle a deal that sent Jacob Martin, Barkevious Mingo and a 2020 third-round pick to Houston for Clowney — a low-risk investment considering the terms of the trade.
As part of the negotiations, the Texans are on the hook for $7 million of Clowney’s salary, leaving Seattle with roughly an $8 million, one-year rental, saving over half of what Frank Clark would have cost the Seahawks this season.
Seattle reportedly promised to not use the franchise tag on Clowney at the end of the year, which will allow him to explore free agency. Should he sign elsewhere, however, the Seahawks would likely be able to recoup the third-rounder they gave up in the trade as a compensatory pick.
“Yeah, it was part of the negotiation,” coach Pete Carroll said Monday on the team’s decision to take the franchise tag off the table. “It is what it is. To negotiate well, you have to understand who you’re dealing with and what’s important and what’s necessary, and that’s why I think John (Schneider) did an incredible job to get this knocked out.”
A long-term deal with Seattle certainly remains a possibility, but per league rules, the Seahawks are prohibited from contract talks with the pass rusher until the end of the regular season.
“That’s thrilling, and we’ll see what goes down in the long haul, but right now it’s too early to even talk about that,” Carroll said. “But I would say absolutely that there’s a chance in our minds that there’s a chance that could happen. We’ll see how it goes.”
