Seahawks trade with Texans to get 3-time Pro Bowl DE Jadeveon Clowney

The rumors have become reality: The Seahawks have added three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney to their pass rush in a blockbuster deal with the Houston Texans just ahead of Week 1 of the 2019 regular season.

Keep track of Seahawks roster moves before 53-man deadline

The Seahawks send defensive ends Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin and a 2020 third-round draft pick to Houston as part of the deal, which was first reported Saturday morning and made official Sunday afternoon.

It’s worth noting that should Clowney – who will be playing under a franchise tag in 2019 – depart Seattle after this season, it would likely net the Seahawks a 2020 third-round compensatory pick. Clowney will make just under $16 million this season due to the tag, and Seattle will not be able to sign him to an extension until his contract is up because the deadline for teams to negotiate new deals with franchise tag players already passed in July.

Houston drafted the 6-feet-5, 255-pound Clowney with the first overall selection in the 2014 NFL Draft. A Pro Bowl selection each of the last three years, he is coming off a 2018 season where he had nine sacks in 15 games – his second season of nine sacks or more – plus a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and 47 total tackles. He also had a touchdown return in each of the past two years.

Mingo, 28, was Seattle’s first free agent addition of 2018. A No. 6 overall pick in 2013, Mingo appeared in 14 games for the Seahawks at outside linebacker and finished with one pass defended, one sack, two quarterback hits and 48 tackles. Mingo particularly excelled at special teams, where he was one of Seattle’s most consistent performers. He transitioned to defensive end leading up to the 2019 season.

Martin, 23, was a fifth-round pick out of Temple by Seattle last year. He played in all 16 games in his rookie season, finishing with two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and three sacks. Head coach Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton he was particularly impressed with Martin’s pressure per snap.

“He was active, his pressures were up there percentage-wise – three sacks in 200 snaps or something like that – (and) he’s going to be a factor for us again,” Carroll said in March. “We need to develop him physically and maintain his girth, he lost weight, he lost 20 pounds over the season, and so that affected him some near the end. But he’s still an attractive guy because of his motor and his quickness.”

This isn’t the first time Seahawks general manager John Schneider has made a big splash to get a star defensive lineman between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season. Two years ago he made a similar trade with the New York Jets to acquire Sheldon Richardson.

Seattle’s new front seven

When defensive tackle Jarran Reed returns after serving a six-week suspension, the Seahawks front seven could be composed of Ziggy Ansah, Poona Ford, Reed, Clowney, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, and Mychal Kendricks.

If you factor in the Seahawks’ trade earlier in the offseason that sent Frank Clark, another defensive end they were planning to play on a franchise tag, to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Clowney trade looks even more impressive. Seattle acquired a first-round and a second-round pick in the 2019 draft for Clark, so the two trades add up like this:

Seahawks trade:

Frank Clark
Barkevious Mingo
Jacob Martin
2020 third-round pick

Seahawks acquire:

Jadeveon Clowney
2019 first-round pick (traded down, selected L.J. Collier, DK Metcalf, Gary Jennings and Travis Homer)
2020 second-round pick

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