Jadeveon Clowney talks. He’s willing to wait out pandemic, has hope of deal with Seahawks
Jadeveon Clowney confirms he has indeed received multiple contract offers.
He says he hopes to “work something out” with the Seahawks to remain with them.
And he says that he’s willing to keep waiting out the coronavirus pandemic deep into the summer before deciding where to sign.
In his first public comments since free agency began in mid-March then stalled for him, the unsigned, three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher sat down with KRIV television at a gym in his hometown of Houston for an interview the station aired Tuesday night.
In it, Clowney said he remains hopeful in returning to the Seahawks, who not only want but need him for their weak pass rush.
“You know, I hope we can work something out, if anything happens,” Clowney told Mark Berman, the sports director at Fox 26 in Houston. “I did like it up there. I love Russ (Russell Wilson). I love all the guys I played with. J. Reed, B. Jack, all them boys in my D (defensive-line) room.
“I respect them guys.”
“J. Reed” is Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed. “B. Jack” is defensive end Branden Jackson. They got tight with Clowney in the 4 1/2 months after the Seahawks traded with the Houston Texans to acquire the pass rusher Sept. 1 through Seattle’s playoff loss at Green Bay.
Clowney went up to John Schneider’s office the day after that defeat in January and told the general manager he loved Seattle and the team’s locker room, and that he would love to find a way to re-sign.
If the money is right, of course.
“I loved Seattle when I was there this past year,” Clowney said again, on TV in Houston Tuesday. “I love everybody on that coaching staff. I wouldn’t trade those guys in (for anything).”
Weeks after he played hurt through the Seahawks’ two playoff games, Clowney had a sports-hernia surgery. He got that core injury during the first half of his dominant game in mid-November, the Seahawks’ win at the previously unbeaten 49ers.
The injury kept Clowney out of three of Seattle’s final five regular-season games. Last season wasn’t unusual for the first pick by the Texans in the 2014 draft. He has completed an entire season injury free just once in his six years in the NFL.
That is why Clowney, unsigned almost two full months into free agency, was in a gym in Houston again on Tuesday. And it’s why he was hosting a television station filming him going through another workout with his personal trainer. His mission is to show teams from afar what he can’t show them in person right now during the coronavirus pandemic: that he is healthy.
The COVID-19 virus and travel restrictions across the NFL and country have kept Clowney from taking physical exams with team doctors. That has kept other teams from making offers competing with Seattle’s—which was believed in mid-March to be for four years and up to $18.5 million per season. Other teams don’t want to give Clowney that kind of money or more without having their doctors verify the 27-year-old defensive end is healthy and thus worthy of all that cash.
“It might have (affected this) a little more than I expected,” he said Tuesday of the coronavirus restrictions. “I don’t know what people think, if they are thinking I am hurting because of what I went through, because of the core or previous years, or what they’ve heard. I don’t know.
“I just want to let people know I am ready. I am ready to go whenever the time comes. And whoever I sign with is going to get the best version of me.”
He says he’ll be ready to be on the field whenever training camp starts. Usually that’s the last week of July, but with the pandemic camps starting could be delayed this summer.
Clowney said he is willing to wait until travel restrictions from COVID-19 ease enough for him to go take physicals—and thus maximize his chances for multiple offers. He’s had them from the Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and, Fox 26’s Berman reported, the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’ve got a few (offers), but the process for me is, really, just weighing my options and taking my time.,” he told KRIV. “I ain’t in no rush right now. I know what’s going on right now in the world with the coronavirus and everything. It’s a slow process, until people, teams can really see me, see what I’ve got and can give me physicals and everything.
“So I ain’t in no rush. I’m just waiting on the right opportunity, and the right timing for me. It’s all about my timing and opportunity. So, just stay focused, stay locked in, keep working, and it’s going to present itself when the time is right.”
He can afford to wait. He’s not missing anything but teams’ virtual training on Zoom video calls. The offseason’s usual minicamps, organized team activities (OTAs) and all on-field work are postponed indefinitely if not canceled while team facilities across the league remain closed.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 6:58 AM.
