While the Seattle Seahawks defense struggled throughout the 2019 season, they did have plenty of bright spots – notably their two in-season acquisitions – defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and free safety Quandre Diggs.
Diggs will no doubt be a big part of the defense next season, but with Clowney set to hit free agency, the Seahawks will have to pony up some cash if they want to see him in the blue and green again next year.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll indicated that he and GM John Schneider already began discussing which free agents they plan to pursue, and while Seattle has not spoken with Clowney directly, Carroll made it clear they hope he’s back next year.
“We’d love to have him be here,” Carroll said on 710 ESPN’s Pete Carroll show on Monday morning. “What a great asset that he is. He’s got such a great spirit about him, he loves the game so much he loves winning and the challenges of it. He was an incredible teammate this year. We had no idea what we were getting when we got him, but he exceeded all expectations. His juice and energy about it, his willingness to fight through the injuries and all that stuff. He was battling the whole year.”
Clowney came to Seattle just before the start of the regular season, and made an immediate impact on the team’s defense. In 13 games (11 starts) Clowney recorded 31 combined tackles, four forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered, three sacks, one interception and two touchdowns.
He suffered a core muscle injury that limited him down the stretch, and played through a tremendous amount of pain in both playoff games.
Carroll said he expects Clowney to get surgery on his core shortly, but was impressed by his ability to fight through for his team.
Clowney will cost a pretty penny, but the Seahawks certainly have cap space to play with next season, and it sure seems like bringing him back in the fold should and will be a top priority as they look to keep the playoff streak alive in 2020.
