Jadeveon Clowney accomplished his mission. The Pro Bowl defensive end forced his way out of Houston by threatening to sit out the entire 2019 season instead of playing on the franchise tag.
Clowney has been traded from the Texans to the Seattle Seahawks. In exchange for the 26-year-old former No. 1 overall pick, the Texans got back a starkly meager return: a 2020 third-round pick, reserve EDGE Barkevious Mingo and practice squad refugee LB Jacob Martin.
Why so little return?
Clowney cannot be signed beyond 2019, and he’s earning the $15.9 million contract on the franchise tag guaranteed in full. Beyond that, the Seahawks now have control of his tag rights, but using the franchise designation on him a second time would cost them well in excess of $20 million.
After firing his agent this week, Clowney made it clear he wanted to hit free agency again next season, which scared off many teams who didn’t want to pay for a one-year rental. The Detroit Lions belong in that category.
Clowney is a very good player, but he’s never topped 9.5 sacks or 60 tackles in a season. With Detroit already paying Trey Flowers $90 million, the budget wasn’t there to give up a similar return package to what the Texans got from Seattle. The strength of the Lions team is the defensive line, so adding him wouldn’t address the much bigger needs at wide receiver, cornerback and offensive guard. Instead, it would have taken resources and options away from trying to fill those holes for GM Bob Quinn.
