Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Michael Bumpus joined 710 ESPN Seattle and weighed in on defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s ongoing status as a free agent.
Bumpus believes the longer Clowney retains his unemployment status, the better it is for the Seahawks.
“I think it’s more circumstantial due to the virus,” Bumpus said, referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “He’s not able to go and take physicals and look guys in the eye and convey that he’s back and ready to go. And honestly, the longer this thing plays out, the better it is for the Seattle Seahawks.”
Bumpus stated Clowney could stay with Seattle because of his recent familiarity with the team and the Seahawks’ knowledge of him as a player.
“They know his ins, his outs, his injuries, what his timelines are like,” Bumpus said. “They know him the best, so I think they’re going to give him at least a fair offer. He might not like the offer – I never thought the Seahawks would give him the offer that he wanted – but I thought they would give him a fair offer. And I think he’s probably seeing that that’s the best that he’s going to get without being to get in front of teams, so the longer that he’s not able to go and talk to these teams and see them face to face, the more it calms me down, honestly.”
Clowney was rated the top free agent in the NFL in the 2020 class by numerous media outlets, but he has not seen a team offer him a contract that pays him north of $20 million per year, which is reportedly his desired salary. Seattle may have the highest chance of signing Clowney following his tenure of unemployment.
